Who This Helps
This is for Team Leads in the Channel Basics: Offers & Creative program who are juggling multiple test ideas. Your team has energy, but you need to point it in the right direction. This routine helps you move from a messy list to a clear winner, so everyone knows what to build next.
Mini Case
Your team brainstormed 8 different creative tests for the upcoming quarter. You can't run them all. Using a basic impact vs. effort score, you rank them. The top idea—a new value-prop headline—scores a 9. The lowest scores a 3. You greenlight the headline test. Two weeks later, it drives a 14% lift in click-through rate. That's focus paying off.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Gather the ideas. List every proposed test on a shared doc. No filtering yet.
- Define two scores. For each idea, rate Potential Impact (1-5) and Estimated Effort (1-5, where 5 is hardest).
- Do the math. Calculate: Impact Score / Effort Score. This gives you a simple priority number.
- Sort and discuss. Order the list by that number. The highest score is your frontrunner. Talk through the top 3 as a team.
- Commit and communicate. Pick #1. Clearly state this is the next experiment and why. Share the simple scoring logic so the team sees it's fair.
Avoid These Traps
- Chasing shiny objects. That cool animation idea might be fun, but if it scores low, park it for later.
- Letting the loudest voice win. The scoring system is the decider, not the most passionate person in the room.
- Overcomplicating the score. Don't add 10 criteria. Impact and effort are enough to start. You can refine later.
- Getting stuck in debate. If scores are tied, the tiebreaker is: which one can we learn from fastest?
- Ignoring low-effort wins. A small copy change (low effort) with decent impact can be a quick morale booster.
- Forgetting the goal. Every test should link back to a core mission, like improving initial offer perception.
- Analysis paralysis. This should take 45 minutes, not 3 days. Set a timer.
- Not documenting. Write down the scores and the final decision. It becomes your playbook for next time.
Your Win by Friday
By this Friday, you will have one prioritized experiment ready for your team to execute. You'll have a clear rationale for why it's #1, and your team will feel aligned, not scattered. You’ll trade chaos for a clean, repeatable filter. That’s how you scale your analytics routine from a one-off to a habit. Go make that list!