The What If feature empowers you to explore different marketing scenarios, allowing you to make better, data-driven decisions about your budget allocation.
For example:
Budget changes: "What will happen to my Opportunities if I decrease my LinkedIn budget by 20%?"
Performance changes: "How will my Pipeline be affected if I increase my Google Ads conversion rate to 35%?"
By using What If, you can compare various scenarios against your predicted baseline performance. This enables you to visualize how adjustments in your strategy may affect key outcomes.
What you can configure
With What If, you can explore the potential business impact of changes to your overall budget, specific channel budgets, or key performance metrics like conversion rates. Below is an overview of what you can configure:
Scenario type | Budget change | CR & Velocity changes |
Overall budget | V | X |
Channel-specific | V | V |
How the forecasting works
Our forecasting model learns from your historical performance data and historical cost data. It considers your planned budget for each channel and whether the channels are classified as organic or paid, helping predict your overall marketing performance for the selected timeframe.
Changing the sample data
The default time period for the dataset that the model learns from is "Last 12 Months." If you need to use more recent data, for example, if you've changed your strategy recently, you can adjust the timeframe by using the edit pencil.
Keep in mind that a very short time period may not provide enough data for the model to learn effectively.
Missing planned budget
As mentioned, the model uses your planned budget (as entered on the Plan page) to provide the most accurate forecast. When you make a budget change, whether for a specific channel or your overall budget, it is based on your planned budget.
If you haven’t set up a budget on your Plan page, the model will use historical average spend data per channel instead.
How to use What If
Step 1: Navigate to What If tab
Go to the What If tab under Analyze.
Step 2: Select the key performance metric
Use the dropdown to choose the Predicted KPI you would like to predict, such as Pipeline, Revenue, Opportunities, or Closed Wons.
Step 3: Choose the timeframe
Select the Timeframe for which you want to simulate performance outcomes. Use the dropdown to pick between: "This year,", “Next year”, "This Quarter", or "Next Quarter".
Step 4: Add a scenario
To create a new scenario, click on Add Scenario and choose whether you want to create:
Overall budget - make a change in your overall budget.
Channel-specific - make a change in specific channels budget or performance.
Step 5: Adjust your scenarios
Adjust budget parameter: You can modify the budget for a specific channel (e.g., LinkedIn).
For instance, decreasing the LinkedIn budget by 20% will show its potential impact on your pipeline [see Scenario(01) below].
Adjust performance parameters: Adjust performance metrics like conversion rates or velocity to explore different performance scenarios.
For example, increasing Google Ads conversion rate to 35% [see Scenario(02) below].
Step 6: Save and analyze the results
After adjusting your scenario, press Save. The results will be displayed alongside the predicted baseline, allowing you to see the differences between the baseline and the various scenarios.
Step 7: Analyze Uplift
Each scenario's outcome will show the projected uplift or decline in the selected KPI. This visual comparison helps you assess the effectiveness of each scenario.
Step 8: Add to report
Click on the cogwheel to add your What If scenarios to a report.
Tips for Using What If:
Always compare scenarios against the baseline to understand the relative impact.
Use a variety of budget and performance combinations to explore different possibilities and find optimal strategies.
Leverage this feature regularly to test potential marketing strategies before committing to budget or channel changes.