Context. Context. Context.

If you talk to a real estate agent they will tell you that the most important thing is Location, Location, Location. When dealing with numbers context is imperative, a simple bare necessity (hint).

Context helps explain if the numbers that your are throwing out are good or bad. It also forces you to think what those numbers mean. It makes you question why and most importantly how.

You see it being used very effectively during earning calls. Companies compare their results to the year or quarter before. This helps explain if the current results are better or worse than expected and that is good.

But you also need to look at how your growth, results or lift stacks against your competition, industry and the world.

If we apply it to Advertising, your campaign could have a 5% conversion rate. Sounds amazing. What if I tell you that the same campaign the year before generated a 8% conversion rate. Now your current results are not that impressive and you might think that you failed.

Let's add another piece of information. Your industry has seen some contraction due to economic factors and across the board campaigns have generated a 2% conversion rate. #Winning!

So context is important to explain your results. Just make sure know all of it and choose wisely when presenting your results!

Now let the summer feeling begin!

Pablo