Growth without a number attached to it is just ambition.
A critical part of the BlackBx model is establishing exactly where the business is today, what the commercial opportunity looks like and what success needs to deliver in pounds and pence.
That starts with knowing the numbers.
Revenue. Margin. Transactions. Conversion. AOV. Acquisition cost. Marketing investment. Customer value. Retention. Channel contribution. Incrementality.
Without a reliable baseline, it’s impossible to set meaningful targets and without meaningful targets, it’s very easy for marketing activity to become a collection of outputs rather than a driver of commercial performance.
Start with the commercial objective
We work backwards from the number.
If the objective is to generate an additional £5 million of revenue, the strategy needs to explain where that £5 million is going to come from.
How much from acquiring more customers?
How much from improving conversion?
How much from increasing average order value?
How much from CRM and repeat purchase?
How much from pricing?
How much from affiliates and partnerships?
How much from new products, audiences or markets?
The target then becomes a model rather than an aspiration.
TARGET + GROWTH LEVERS + KPIs + ACTIVITY + INVESTMENT = RETURN
Numbers create accountability
Setting targets gives us an objective way to determine what’s working.
Instead of: “Paid media performance has improved.”
We can say:“CPA needs to reduce from £42 to £34.”
Instead of:“We need to improve conversion.”
We can say:“Moving conversion from 2.1% to 2.4% is worth approximately £X in incremental annual revenue.”
Instead of:“CRM is a growth opportunity.”
We can establish:“Increasing repeat purchase by X% creates £X of additional customer lifetime value.”
That changes the conversation from marketing activity to commercial impact.
It also tells us what’s realistic
Targets should stretch the business, but they also need to stack up. If the required growth demands twice as many customers while acquisition costs are increasing and conversion is declining, we need to know that. If a relatively small improvement in conversion generates more profit than another £500,000 of media spend, we need to know that too. The numbers allow us to model different routes to growth and prioritise the combination with the strongest potential return.
And then we measure relentlessly
Once the target is established, measurement becomes part of the strategy rather than something that happens afterwards. We know:
Where we started.
Where we’re going.
Which levers are expected to get us there.
What each needs to contribute.
What we’re prepared to invest.
What return we expect.
And, crucially:
Whether we’re on track.
That allows us to intervene early, move investment, change tactics and accelerate what is working rather than waiting until the end of a campaign or financial year to discover we missed the number.
At BlackBx, this is fundamental to how we work We don’t set out to deliver more marketing activity. We establish the commercial target and build the strategy required to deliver it.
Because ultimately: