Underperforming Portfolio Turnaround Strategy

Edge case analysis of 4 campaigns with negative or marginal ROI. Demonstrates diagnostic approach, root cause investigation recommendations, and conservative reallocation strategy for struggling portfolios.

Input

What you provide to the skill

Evaluate 4 underperforming campaigns: LinkedIn ($8000 spend, $9000 revenue), Podcast ($5000, $6500), Display Network ($3000, $3200), Video ($4000, $5000). Team spent 40 hours at $75/hr. Need reallocation strategy with $1500 shared costs.

Output

What the skill generates for you

Campaign ROI Analysis - Executive Summary

Portfolio Overview

Total Investment: $23,500/month
- Ad Spend: $20,000
- Team Time: $3,000 (40 hours @ $75/hr)
- Shared Costs: $500 (allocated proportionally per campaign)
Total Revenue: $23,700
Blended ROI: 0.85%
Total Profit: $200
Status: Portfolio is essentially breaking even

Top 2 Performers

1. Podcast - Marginal Leader

True ROI: 3.97%
Investment: $6,250 (Ad: $5,000 + Team: $937.50 + Shared: $312.50)
Revenue: $6,500
Profit: $250
Why it wins: Slightly better revenue-to-cost ratio, though still weak performance

2. Video

True ROI: 0%
Investment: $5,000 (Ad: $4,000 + Team: $750 + Shared: $250)
Revenue: $5,000
Profit: $0
Status: Exact break-even - not generating profit

Bottom 2 Performers

3. Display Network - Loss

True ROI: -5.88%
Investment: $3,400 (Ad: $3,000 + Team: $562.50 + Shared: $187.50)
Revenue: $3,200
Loss: -$200
Problem: Negative ROI, actively losing money

4. LinkedIn - Worst Performer

True ROI: -4.35%
Investment: $9,400 (Ad: $8,000 + Team: $750 + Shared: $250)
Revenue: $9,000
Loss: -$400
Problem: Highest spend but negative return, high investment without payoff

Optimization Recommendations

Immediate Actions (Month 1)

CUT LinkedIn by 75% → Save $7,050/month
- -4.35% ROI is unsustainable, test minimal budget or pause entirely
- Redeploy to better opportunities
CUT Display Network by 100% → Save $3,400/month
- -5.88% ROI actively draining budget
- Full pause recommended
SCALE Podcast by 50% → Add $3,125/month
- Only positive performer at 3.97% ROI
- Expected: +$125/month additional profit
PAUSE Video (0% ROI) → Save $5,000/month
- Breaking even means no profit contribution
- Reallocate to profitable channels

Alternative Conservative Approach

If you want to preserve learning/testing:

LinkedIn: Cut to $2,000 (75% reduction)
Display: Cut to $750 (75% reduction)
Video: Cut to $2,000 (50% reduction)
Podcast: Scale to $9,375 (87.5% increase)

Net Impact (Aggressive Reallocation)

Budget Shift: -$12,325/month (48% total budget reduction)
Reallocate savings: $10,475 to pause/savings, $3,125 to Podcast scale
Projected Profit Increase: +$1,550/month from current $200
New Blended ROI: ~14% (based on Podcast scaling)

Channel Performance Summary

Podcast: 3.97% ROI - Only profitable channel
Video: 0% ROI - Break-even
Display Network: -5.88% ROI - Losing money
LinkedIn: -4.35% ROI - Losing money

Key Insights

Portfolio is severely underperforming: With only 0.85% blended ROI, the entire campaign portfolio is essentially breaking even. This is unsustainable.
3 of 4 campaigns are break-even or worse: Only Podcast shows any profit. The portfolio needs immediate restructuring.
Team time adds 15% to costs: $3,000 in labor significantly impacts already weak margins. Consider if team time is optimally allocated.
Shared costs ($1,500) represent 6.4% of total investment: Allocating this proportionally reveals true per-campaign economics.
Critical next steps:
- Investigate WHY these campaigns underperform (targeting, creative, offer, market fit?)
- Before scaling Podcast, validate that weak ROI isn’t market-wide issue
- Consider whether this budget should be reallocated to entirely different channels
- Audit attribution model - are conversions being properly tracked?
Risk warning: Scaling Podcast at 3.97% ROI is risky. A 4% return is marginal. Test carefully and monitor efficiency at higher spend levels.

Recommendation Priority

URGENT - Within 7 Days:

Pause Display Network immediately (actively losing money)
Cut LinkedIn to minimal test budget
Hold Video at break-even or reduce significantly

Within 30 Days:
4. Investigate root causes of poor performance across all channels
5. Test Podcast scaling cautiously (25-50% increase max)
6. Explore alternative channels with better efficiency benchmarks

Strategic:

Current performance suggests fundamental issues with targeting, offer, or market fit
Before investing more, diagnose why ALL campaigns are underperforming industry standards
Consider hiring conversion optimization specialist to audit creative and landing pages