CXL - What's behind success?

I have 6 updates for you this week.

1. On my mind

"Everyone wants to know the key causal factor in success. What's behind the growth? What can we attribute it to?

Companies act in complex adaptive systems that inherently lack linear causality. In other words, it is inherently impossible to know what's behind the success or what the one thing to focus on for the future is.

For instance, CXL has been without a growth team since March (we're hiring, come work with me!). Literally no marketing people. No marketing efforts are being shipped. 

June results were 45% growth YoY. 

This is because of momentum. It's because of what we did 4 yrs ago.

It's the brand, content, relationships, word of mouth, my tweets and who knows what else. All the customer touchpoints over the last 10 years matter.

Had my team had been experimenting with PR or TikTok or influencer marketing or whatever, and we had 45% YoY growth, it would be tempting to say - "I think the results are because of the PR efforts!"

Balancing the long (brand) and short (performance) is a fine art (Binet/Field advise to go for a 60/40 split).

We cannot know everything, we can't attribute everything. 

Traditional strategic planning does not work to the extent most seem to believe. In the right context, planning can absolutely work. 

But it can also create the illusion of working.

Steven Levitt told a story of a company that every year advertised in certain magazines, and sales went up. They were certain it's because of the ads. After all, sales went up every time. 

It also happened to be the Christmas season.

(TL;DR the ads did nothing).

Business is a complex system (a large number of connected elements that interact in nonlinear ways), not an order system (linear causality). 

Hence we should look to complexity science and enhance the depth of our thinking in these matters.”

-Peep

2. New on the blog

Conversion rate formulas to accurately calculate growth

Conversions are crucial to your business. But a good conversion rate doesn’t always mean more sales. Here's how to calculate conversion rates and its application across different channels and customer journeys. 

3. How to build Superfans with Personal Video webinar

Learn how to create more "top customers" and "brand advocates" who will not only buy more from you but spread the word about your greatness far and wide.

Join Casey Hill on July 21st at 11:00 AM CDT.

Save your seat!

4. How to build a Global Brand, without a Global Budget

The most innovative brands today aren’t throwing loads of money at Superbowl ads. Instead, they are building audiences by connecting with existing subcultures and communities across the open web.

Join Phil Nottingham on August 4th at 11:00 AM CDT.

Save your seat! 

5. The 5 biggest myths marketers believe about Brand Communities

Define and demystify what it takes to create a brand community to connect your most loyal superfans.

Join Carrie Melissa Jones on September 8th at 11:00 AM CST.

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