Template · C96
Keep a marketing decision log
How do you keep the reasoning, reservations and review date behind every trade-off?
Direct answer
The log links the decision, rejected options, evidence, assumptions, decision maker, cost of reversal and reopening condition.
01Close a decision while keeping it open to revision without reconstructing its history.
02The rule, the evidence and the next review date stay visible.
How to use this
Move from the question to the deliverable.
How do you keep the reasoning, reservations and review date behind every trade-off?
Close a decision while keeping it open to revision without reconstructing its history.
Downloadable decision log
Downloadable template · SQ-96
Record what would reopen a decision
Meeting minutes often record what was chosen, rarely why, over which alternatives and until when. The log keeps these conditions in a format that can be revised.
Illustrative template for four decisions of an annual plan, from framing to reforecast.
- 01State
Write the decision as a bounded commitment, not as a topic of discussion.
- 02Compare
Keep the discarded options and the verifiable reason they were rejected.
- 03Set conditions
Document assumptions, reservations, cost of reversal and reopening threshold.
- 04Review
Review expired decisions before each committee meeting, without rewriting their original state.
Decision log with an expiry date
Every row is enough to understand the decision, its authority, its evidence and the condition that requires reopening it.
| Decision | Selected option | Rejected option | Evidence | Decision maker | Reopen when | Reversibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial segment | Mid-market services | Broad SME | Win rate 28% | Marketing leadership | Win rate < 20% over 8 weeks | Medium |
| Media budget | €240k in tranches | €320k firm | Marginal return | Marketing + finance | CAC > €4.8k | High |
| Launch date | 20/10 subject to gate | 01/10 | Product + compliance | GTM sponsor | Evidence complete by 06/10 | Low |
| Partner channel | 12-account pilot | National rollout | 4 qualified introductions | Sales director | < 2 opp. by 30/11 | High |
01The launch date is hard to reverse: its evidence and decision maker must be more explicit than for the partner pilot.
02The CAC threshold allows the budget to be reopened without calling the segment or the date into question.
03A decision without a reopening condition is either permanent or incompletely documented.
Fictitious example. The log complements the formal decision records; it does not replace the applicable delegations of authority.
Coherence controls
Minimum conditions before validation.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
Usable deliverable
Downloadable decision log
Explore the decision further with an interactive control, or start from a structured template to produce your deliverable.