Are We in Danger of Losing Sight of our Objectives and Strategies – Ben Irons Benchmark 2018 talk review

Oct 25th, 2018

Digital Director of notonthehighstreet.com, Ben Irons, talked about the need for brands and marketers to self-examine in order to make sure that busyness isn’t just for busyness’ sake


Irons, as a Digital Director, is more than aware of the various levels of complexity that abound in digital marketing as an industry – but, as he began, with all of the many and varied data points available, how can we be sure that aren’t overcomplicating things?

The important thing to remember, Irons says, is to remember the basics – always keep in mind what data is actually bringing value to the business. Data that you can’t directly use to impact your business is not data that’s worth harvesting.



With much of the presentation raising important questions about our data heavy industry, Irons brought a series of theoretical propositions aimed at encouraging deeper thought around what we’re doing with the wealth of information available to us – are we measuring things that are actually important to our business? How are we spending our time and is it paying back?

Irons says we don’t spend enough time: –

  • Reviewing previous performance and learning from mistakes
  • Evaluating the right customer targeting – use the data at our disposal and really critique and evaluate where we should be focusing our time
  • Selecting the testing we want to do, properly creating hypothesis and considering if the end results change our view or the decisions we’d be taking as a result
  • Discussing what action to take instead of getting on with it


Irons finished the talk by outlining what’s needed to build a framework for success:

  • Don’t forget the basics, such clearly defining goals
  • Measure what’s relevant
  • Ensure you’re using your time well
  • Listen to the customer
  • The best strategies are the most simple

For more of our Benchmark talks from 2014 on, you can visit our Benchmark page – or check out our resource section to find more actionable insights for your search marketing.

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