Channel Stop Or Scale Decision Sheet
Decide whether to hold, repair, stop or expand a marketing channel using comparable outcomes, full effort and explicit evidence limits.
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When to use this template
Use this after a channel has produced enough task-relevant observations to review its role. Assess data quality, audience fit, actual capacity and remaining obligations before committing more effort.
Choose another approach when: You want to scale from impressions alone, hide recurring maintenance costs, or treat a weak uncontrolled comparison as proof that a channel can never work.
Gather these inputs
- The channel’s actual role, relevant audience and supported offer.
- Outcome reports with stable definitions, mature windows and known gaps.
- Total preparation, publication and follow-up effort plus current capacity.
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Worked example
Illustrative example, not a Crany customer result. Replace every example detail with facts you can verify.
Fictional example: a founder’s tutorial has generated relevant product questions, while a high-impression placement has no reliable task-fit evidence. The review does not rank the placement higher simply because its visible counter is larger. The tutorial still requires answering questions and keeping the demonstration current. Those obligations are included before considering a second tutorial. A tracking gap in the placement is assigned a bounded repair rather than interpreted as proof that nobody cared. The founder chooses a limited next action with a review point. The sheet records the strongest reason that decision might be wrong and preserves the option to stop or change it when better evidence arrives.
How to use it
- Check evidence quality and the channel’s actual purpose before comparing results.
- Include full effort, current obligations and a realistic alternative allocation.
- Choose a bounded decision with contrary evidence and explicit review conditions.
Check before using it
- Unmeasured outcomes are not converted into either success or zero demand.
- A larger activity counter is not used as a substitute for relevant outcomes.
- Expansion includes the capacity required for continuing follow-up.
What to measure
Track completion of the chosen action, new evidence and whether review conditions are met. Compare relevant outcomes under consistent definitions and observation windows. This allocation record is not a validated profitability model or evidence of a randomized channel effect.
Research and sources
Microsoft emphasizes measurement and data quality for experiments; Atlassian addresses activity and capacity planning. This original channel-allocation sheet uses those principles without treating an observational review as a controlled experiment.
- Microsoft Research: Patterns of Trustworthy Experimentation, Pre-Experiment Stage — checked 2026-10-24. Clear hypotheses, appropriate measurement, assignment units and data-quality checks before a controlled experiment.
- Atlassian Team Playbook: Capacity planning — checked 2026-10-24. Observe activities, include overhead, distinguish projects and review time allocation. Team exercise adapted to founder planning, not a validated productivity benchmark.
About Crany
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