Recently, I got to thinking (always dangerous). It had been a while since I posted my last "bona-fide hits" update, and I was preparing to write the new one. As I did, I kept wondering about the items that I had really liked but hadn't seen on the charts.
What about that particular item I gave a glowing "7 out of 7!" or that commercial I thought was "Excellent!" Whatever happened to those items? That's when I realized I had no system in place for keeping track of such items.
Remembering all the items that looked good, but failed to achieve, is important for at least three reasons:
1. So we, as DRTV marketers, can learn from other people's marketing mistakes and avoid repeating them.
2. So we can develop a sense of what products and categories don't seem to work well in DRTV, at least not at the present moment.
3. So we can remain humble and remember that for all of our expertise, sure-fire systems and gut feelings, we are wrong more often than we are right.
With that said, I am introducing a new feature today called "Keeping Score," an expanded version of "Bona-Fide Hits." I'm also changing the methodology a bit. Rather than look at three or six months and pick out the hits, I will go back to a certain month (at least 90 days prior), list all of the items I reviewed and then quickly update you on how they turned out, according to the charts.
If I get to crow, I will crow (a little). If I have to eat crow, I will eat crow. Then, I will explain why I think things turned out the way they did. As always, your thoughts and comments will be welcome.
Tomorrow: January 2009.
