Module 01: Start up strategies can only go so far

In this module Grace introduces the moment when performance marketing can no longer drive fast growth, and explains it’s a normal point in the lifecycle of a growing online business.

She introduces a very simple model that encapsulates relevant theory and uses it to explain why this moment arrives and then why demand building advertising can be the solution.

Grace also discusses how the outside world matters, because it determines how effective performance marketing can be and because demand building brings some stability when the outside world is changing.

Case studies are from ASOS, Airbnb, and eve sleep.

There are three c.15 minute sections: Pools of demand, A point in the life of your business, Filling the pool is a win-win

Module 02: Remove wastage

This module sets out a plan of action to liberate money for demand building by revisiting the performance budget and removing wastage. Grace begins by explaining why wastage arises and why the decision tools that performance marketers typically use don’t point out spend that’s no longer needed.

She then introduces new data and ways of thinking that find things performance marketing dashboards routinely miss. She introduces the concept of incremental sales and contrasts it with the role for online ads in helping people find the checkout.

As well as showing how to identify signposts that are needed vs. not needed, Grace shares magic numbers’ data on which types of online ads are most likely to drive incremental sales.

There are three c.15 minute sections: Online real estate and signposts, About incrementality, Remove wastage

Module 03: Good first steps in a new direction

Module 3 is about what to do as you first step away from only using performance marketing and start to add other elements to the mix. Grace begins by talking through how the first steps should be different depending on what you sell, and in particular, the purchase cycle, ticket price, and new-ness of your product.

She then goes on to outline test and learn strategies that enable tentative first steps in media purchasing to evolve into confident strategies. Finally, Grace outlines the types of creative and messaging mistakes that scale ups often make. She moves on to discuss how to do creative well, including when and why to use a creative agency.

Case studies are Monzo, Bloom & Wild, and Habito.

There are three c.15 minute sections: The right strategy for what you sell, Test and learn, Don’t fall for the wrong creative

Module 04: How much to spend and how

This module is packed full of magic numbers’ proprietary data on how online businesses can buy the right amount and the right type of media. Grace introduces a rule of thumb on budget size for maximum ROI and a free online tool for setting budgets for growth in a competitive market.

She then goes on to outline new evidence on the best allocation of spend across long and short. And identifies the channels – both on and offline – that do each job well.

Finally, she introduces methods for choosing how much to spend on each media channel – both with and without analytics. And for those that just want a starter media mix, Grace reveals the mix used by online businesses that got a high return on investment, showing how its different to mixes that returned less.

There are three c.15 minute sections: Spending the right amount, Allocating it: Build vs. harvest demand, Allocating it: Individual media choices

Module 05: Measurement and how to use it

The final module is about measurement, and it’s organised around the principle that data and numbers are most useful if they bring about needed change. This only happens if the people that need to make decisions find the numbers convincing.

Grace starts with research on how businesses make decisions to buy expensive things like media campaigns, and then introduces a framework for bringing about change.

She then sets out a range of simple and convincing analyses that scale ups can do with the data and tools they already have. Before moving on to the pros and cons of more adventurous measurement.

There are four c.10 minute sections: Your business will probably be risk averse, How change happens, Simple can be convincing, More adventurous measurement

Homework and assignment

Each module comes with a task that invites students to put the concepts used into practice. The tasks are fully achievable for people who only dabble with excel and didn’t love maths at school.

Most people go through the tasks using example data on a made up business, but it’s also possible to use data on your own business that you probably have to hand already.

At the end of the course, you are presented with an assignment that brings together all the homework and asks you to identify the right next step and write up the business case for it.

So that you get back to your desk with a framework to apply anywhere and actionable next steps

Testimonials about our learning for scale ups

  • Just finishing up the awesome Magic Numbers scale up course and I've loved every bit of it! Clear, robust and highly practical training for any online scale-up who wants to raise their game in terms of effectiveness and drive more growth

  • I can THOROUGHLY recommend this course. We're smashing through myths and fallacies at breakneck speed and learning practical techniques to drive e-commerce growth - often without incremental spend.

  • This course armed me with a perspective on how to balance demand building vs. demand harvesting, which channels and creative formats are best for each, how to build strong creative, how to measure incrementality, allocate media budgets, and more! If you get a chance to take the course, I highly recommend it.”

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