Is 80% good enough?

🤔 Is 80% good enough?

When I was a Product Manager at World Vision, I was obsessed with donor experience. Let’s face it, I still am!

The problem was that I would fixate on something like website functionality, the design of a print piece, or a small video edit.

Because we were working with donor money, it had to be PERFECT.

Or did it?

One day, I was walking through a website enhancement I wanted to have developed with an outside partner, and our EVP said to me, “Brian, 80% is good enough.”

He went on to explain that he appreciated my commitment to excellence, but it wasn’t a financially wise decision to get that extra 15% functionality I wanted. Especially when we were unsure the enhancement would deliver a positive ROI.

This doesn’t mean we should be sloppy; putting strategic thought into enhancements and testing is still critical. But, when you do, think about the cost versus time and learning.

This type of testing is called the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule. In marketing, it suggests that reaching about 80% effectiveness in a product or campaign can produce most of the desired results without the extensive time and resources needed for complete perfection.

🚀 Speed is a strategy. It’s the one thing you can’t buy.

Don’t waste time on the “maybe” and get out into the market sooner, and let your donors tell you what they want with their dollars.

If you are struggling with this, let’s talk!