How can marketers estimate the impact of marketing campaigns when they have little experience in estimating impact?

• A. They can use benchmarks from competitors
• B. They can ask what the goals are for the campaign and determine whether those goals have been met
• C. They can guess based on past campaigns
• D. They can delay measurement

Answer: (B)

When you have little experience estimating impact, the most reliable first step is to define clear, measurable goals for the campaign and then see if those goals were met. This frames what you’re trying to achieve and gives you concrete targets to compare against. By setting specific targets—such as a number of leads, a target revenue, a desired level of brand lift, or a reach/frequency threshold—you can track actual results during and after the campaign and determine whether you achieved the intended outcome. This approach makes measurement practical and actionable, even with limited data, because you’re always comparing performance to a predefined standard rather than guessing or relying on external benchmarks.

Benchmarks from competitors can be misleading because every market, audience, and budget is different, so they don’t provide a reliable yardstick for your own campaign. Guessing based on past campaigns without adjusting for context can lead to inaccurate conclusions. Delaying measurement only postpones learning and makes it harder to optimize. Focusing on clearly defined goals and checking whether they’re met keeps the evaluation grounded and useful.