The PDCA cycle has become a commonplace keyword in the business world. But for those accustomed to campaign-style work—limited-time, one-off projects—this might be surprisingly challenging. Even if they grasp the concept, they often end up at "PDC." That is, they fail to connect to the next findings, merely measuring the effect of implemented measures. Or they proceed without really knowing whether they've successfully linked "PDC" to "A" or not.
On the other hand, there are professionals who continuously run PDCA cycles. Primarily in the digital realm, especially those with experience relentlessly (a term often used) chasing results in areas like online ad operations. Here, both media and messaging undergo rapid PDCA cycles, continuously optimizing. By concentrating efforts on the higher-probability paths, numerical results improve.
While this is a crucial methodology, viewed from the perspective of overall marketing activities, it presents a challenge: the desired "results" aren't necessarily limited to "numerical improvements from optimization."
PDCA for Optimization vs. PDCA for Exploration
For example, achieving high brand awareness, driving conversions from many users, or acquiring customers at the lowest possible cost. With such goals, targets are clear and measurement straightforward. This type of optimization-focused PDCA cycle is fast-paced, allowing companies to build up empirical benchmarks over time. The perspective for interpreting the resulting metrics is also clear, making it relatively easy for both frontline staff and managers to share evaluations.
However, the outcomes we seek from marketing activities aren't always this straightforward.
For example, the desired outcomes can vary widely: acquiring younger customers, increasing the number of brands used and the length of time they are used, boosting brand loyalty, finding ways to increase brand contact frequency, or identifying the information pathways that lead to product purchases. This type of PDCA cycle sometimes becomes more of an "exploration" than an "optimization." Since there is no absolute right answer, it becomes a process of trying various approaches to discover your own benchmarks.
To achieve this, you might need interview surveys, insights into the relationship between implemented measures and outcomes, or understanding changes over time. The results come from combining various data and information sources, and continuous tracking of changes is crucial. Consequently, gaining meaningful insights requires a significant, dedicated block of time.
Approaching this exploratory PDCA cycle with a mindset focused solely on "improving numbers and optimizing" often leads to difficulties.
What exactly constitutes results?
Furthermore, the outcome of PDCA involves not just "learning something," but also reaching the point of "designing the next action based on what was learned." To devise the next action, it's essential to identify issues during the check phase. While this is relatively easy in PDCA focused on optimization, it becomes quite difficult in PDCA focused on exploration. This necessitates a renewed discussion on how to leverage the results discovered through exploration for the next steps.
Fundamentally, "results" aren't just for measuring the quality of specific measures or ideas. They serve to gauge, from the perspective of the entire project or business, what the organization has achieved and how far it has progressed toward its intended goals.
At the same time, it is insufficient to simply judge at a given point whether "results were achieved or not"; what is most important is to keep moving forward continuously.
The key to achieving results is to first define the goals and metrics, then develop the initiatives.
This is a slight digression, but occasionally I hear people say they don't even know if results are being achieved before getting to PDCA.
What must not be forgotten is that "results" lack absolute metrics that anyone can objectively judge as good or bad. This means that before starting a project, you must define for yourselves "what constitutes achieving results" – the "definition of results" (= the goal).
One definition might be "surpassing competitors' numbers." Another approach could be setting numerical targets like "● million new customers" or "● million daily page views." Even if the "success" is hard to define numerically, converting it into measurable data for digital tracking is crucial.
This definition also serves as the selection criteria when considering communication strategies like content. Starting without a "definition of success" inevitably leads to unconscious bias toward "things that seem likely to generate buzz." While capturing the audience's interest is a crucial criterion for any strategy, in digital marketing, it only fulfills a necessary condition. Based on the "definition of success," you must decide the desired action from those exposed to the strategy and establish metrics to measure it.
We often prioritize campaign ideas over defining outcomes, inevitably putting this step off. However, designing this definition first and clearly aligning it with the team and decision-makers is crucial. This clarity allows us to determine whether our project is delivering results, enabling us to execute meaningful next steps. Simultaneously, it fosters a sense of accomplishment within the team, makes it easier to gain buy-in from upper management, and ultimately drives the evolution of the team's entire digital marketing strategy.
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