What Is Completion Bias?
Completion bias is the tendency to prioritise tasks or projects simply because they’re nearly finished, rather than because they offer the highest value or impact. In growth marketing, this bias often leads teams to continue investing resources into experiments or campaigns that no longer align with strategic goals or deliver meaningful results.
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Why Completion Bias Matters in Growth Marketing
Growth marketing relies on rapid experimentation, data-driven decisions, and continuous iteration. Completion bias undermines these principles by causing teams to:
- Keep investing in low-impact experiments just because they’re almost done.
- Delay or overlook higher-value opportunities that could deliver better results.
- Misallocate resources, slowing down overall experiment velocity and effectiveness.
Ultimately, completion bias reduces your team’s ability to deliver meaningful growth and measurable results.
How to Recognise Completion Bias in Your Team
Spotting completion bias early helps you address it effectively. Here are common signs your team might be affected:
- Tasks are frequently prioritised based on how close they are to completion rather than their potential impact.
- Experiments continue running even after initial data shows they’re unlikely to deliver meaningful results.
- Team members resist pivoting or abandoning projects due to the sunk cost of time and effort already invested.
If these patterns sound familiar, it’s time to tackle completion bias head-on.
How to Overcome Completion Bias in Your Growth Strategy
Set Clear Prioritisation Criteria
Establish explicit criteria for prioritising experiments and tasks. These criteria should focus on potential impact, alignment with strategic goals, and expected ROI—not just proximity to completion. Regularly revisit these criteria with your team to reinforce their importance. Consider using established prioritisation frameworks to guide your decisions.
Conduct Regular Experiment Reviews
Schedule frequent check-ins to objectively evaluate ongoing experiments. During these reviews, ask critical questions such as:
- Is this experiment still aligned with our strategic goals?
- Does early data indicate this experiment will deliver meaningful results?
- Would resources be better allocated elsewhere?
Regular reviews help your team stay agile and avoid falling into the completion bias trap. Building a strong culture of experimentation can further support these reviews.
Encourage a Culture of Adaptability and Learning
Build a team culture that values learning and adaptability over simply completing tasks. Celebrate decisions to pivot or abandon experiments when data suggests it’s the right move. Reinforce that the goal is growth and impact, not just ticking off tasks. Adopting a growth mindset culture can help your team embrace adaptability and continuous learning.
How Growth Method Helps You Avoid Completion Bias
Growth Method is the only work management platform built specifically for growth marketers. It helps your team prioritise effectively, maintain experiment velocity, and avoid common pitfalls like completion bias.
- Ideation: Our intuitive ideation system ensures growth ideas align with your strategic goals and follow hypothesis best practices. Ideas are automatically categorised and shared with your team, keeping everyone aligned on priorities.
- Experimentation: Growth Method enforces clear experiment stages—building, live, analysing, and complete—with defined timeframes. This structured approach helps your team objectively evaluate experiments at each stage, reducing the risk of completion bias.
- Reporting: Our industry-leading reporting provides clear visibility into experiment performance and strategic alignment, making it easy to identify when resources should be reallocated to higher-impact opportunities.
“We are on-track to deliver a 43% increase in inbound leads this year. There is no doubt the adoption of Growth Method is the primary driver behind these results.” Laura Perrott, Colt Technology Services
Final Thoughts
Completion bias can significantly hinder your growth marketing efforts by diverting resources away from high-impact opportunities. By recognising the signs early, establishing clear prioritisation criteria, and fostering a culture of adaptability, your team can overcome this bias and drive better results.
Growth Method provides the structure, visibility, and insights your team needs to stay focused on what matters most—delivering measurable growth and ROI.
Ready to optimise your growth strategy and eliminate completion bias? Book a call today and see how Growth Method can help your team achieve more.