The cost of a finding that does not land
A correct analysis nobody acts on costs more than the hours. It spends the credibility the next finding will need, and the next one usually matters more.
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By Joris van Huët, Founder & CEOUpdated 3 min read
A correct analysis nobody acts on costs more than the hours that went into it, because it spends credibility the next one will need. And the next one is usually the more important of the two.
The three costs
| Cost | Who pays | When |
|---|---|---|
| The work | Whoever produced it | Immediately, and it is the smallest |
| The misallocation that continues | The business | Every month until something changes |
| Credibility for the next finding | The person who presented it | At the next attempt |
Why credibility is the expensive one
Measurement work compounds through trust. A team that has acted on two findings and seen them work will act on the third quickly. A team that has heard three findings and acted on none has learned that these presentations do not lead anywhere, and the fourth gets scheduled after other things.
That is not irrationality. It is a reasonable inference from observed outcomes, which makes it hard to argue away.
The four reasons findings do not land
Presented with a budget decision attached, so the measurement got contested instead of examined. Presented to everyone at once, so the affected person defended rather than contributed. Presented without its limits, so the first flaw found undermined all of it. Or presented with an ask too large to approve in the room.
Each has a fix and all four are covered elsewhere: who to convince first, showing the gap to your team, defending a finding starts with the method, and ten minutes on the agenda.
The recovery move
If a finding did not land, do not re-present it. Propose the test instead. A finding that failed to persuade becomes considerably more persuasive when it arrives as "we ran the holdout we discussed and here is what happened".
That takes weeks and it works, where repeating the same slide does not.
The prevention
Ask for something small enough to be approved. The cheapest possible ask is permission to hold one channel's budget steady for four weeks so that the next read can resolve it. Almost nobody refuses that, and it produces the evidence that makes the larger ask possible later.
The question worth asking after a failed presentation
Not "why did they not believe it" but "what would they have needed in order to act". The answer is usually a smaller ask, not a better argument.
Related answers
Frequently asked questions
What does an ignored analysis actually cost?
The hours, which are the smallest part; the misallocation that continues every month; and the credibility the next finding will need. The third is the expensive one, because measurement work compounds through trust rather than through individual reports.Why do correct findings fail to persuade?
Usually four reasons: a budget decision was attached so the measurement got contested, everyone heard it at once so the affected person defended, the limits were not stated so the first flaw undermined everything, or the ask was too large to approve.What should I do if a finding did not land?
Do not re-present it. Propose the test instead. A finding that failed to persuade becomes much stronger when it returns as the result of a holdout the room agreed to, which takes weeks and works where repetition does not.
Go deeper: Incrementality testing, explained.
Sixty-second versions of these ideas: Causality Engine on YouTube Shorts.
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