Pilot projects are always a smart idea, but they are essential in times like these, when marketers must stretch budgets and minimize risks. When properly designed, pilots enable you to capture real benefits quickly. Better yet, once an action’s benefit is proven, it can be immediately extrapolated and rolled out at a scale to maximize returns and then leveraged to support the long-term development of a marketing ROI capability. Pilots also allow you to evaluate your organizational capabilities — identifying strengths and, just as important, pinpointing weaknesses.
http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=139314
