How to tell whether a neighbourhood collaboration worked

Once a collaboration is over, the first thing everybody looks at is views. It is the biggest number and the easiest to reach, and also the one that tells you least about whether any of it was useful.

Ten thousand people who cannot come are worth less than two hundred who walk past every day.

The most honest signal is at your door

If someone comes in and mentions they saw you, that is already more information than any statistics panel. You do not need anything sophisticated: during those days, asking now and then how people heard about you is enough to get a fairly accurate picture.

Read the comments, do not just count them

A post with few comments but of the "oh, that is right next to my house" kind worked far better than one with many generic ones. Read what they say rather than counting how many there are.

Give it time before judging

People see something, fancy it, and come three weeks later when it suits them. Closing the assessment after 48 hours is the most common mistake, and it leads to writing off things that were actually working.

And decide in advance what you expected

Before starting, write down what you would consider a good outcome: new faces coming in, people knowing the new product exists, filling a quiet day. Without that, any number looks good or bad depending on the day you are having.