What to do when MER drops

Step 1: is the data right?

• Compare store orders and revenue with the report for the same days.
• Check the purchase event, the currency and the time zone. A tracking fault looks like a drop.

Step 2: is it spend?

• Did spend rise faster than revenue, or did revenue fall with flat spend?
• Check for new campaigns, changed budgets and anything in the change log.

Step 3: is it traffic or conversion?

• Sessions and conversion rate by device and source. A site or checkout problem shows here.
• Cost per click and click through rate. A rise in cost or a drop in attention points at reach and creative.

Step 4: is it the business?

• Stock outs, price changes, discounts, shipping times and returns.
• Season and competitors: compare with the same weeks last year.

Step 5: act and record

• Fix the cause with the smallest change, get approval, apply it, read it back and log it.
• Report the drop, the cause and the fix to the client before they ask.