Does this sound familiar? Or just plain weird?
When it comes to marketing, there are a lot of “magic bullets.” The key, though, is to weigh the WHAT vs. the WHY. Think of this scenario: Your buddy calls you up because he’s trying a new marketing tactic that’s making great headway.
“Hey Bill, we’re getting a ton of leads from this direct mail campaign that we are running. You HAVE to be doing this. It’s EXPLODING our phones!!! How is your marketing person not doing this!?!”
When these conversations start happening, a lot of companies tend to get caught up in WHAT they are doing and forget the WHY. This tends to happen several months into a marketing engagement. Other times, it happens when an executive hears about some new marketing gadget/idea/thingy/whatever. The story sounds so convincing that they suddenly insist, “THAT’S what we need to be doing!”
Instead of thinking through the reasoning behind a certain marketing campaign, all too often, companies think of these tactics like a tool they can quickly buy or add to a kit. And because it worked for someone else, they assume it should work for them too. But will that same technique really work on your own clients?
Before you throw your entire marketing strategy out the window because your buddy Jack in a COMPLETELY different industry is having some luck with a new tactical item, stop and think:
1. Why would your client care about this marketing tactic, and how will they respond?
We always have to remember that we build strategy based on your buyer personas’ point of view—not yours, and definitely not your buddy Jack’s.
2. How does this fit with our current marketing strategy?
These “We gotta try this!” ideas tend to come up mid-plan. What typically gets companies into a marketing mess is the inability to execute on marketing tactics already in place. So don’t fall for the Shiny Object Syndrome.
If you consider the above, and the tactical item still has legs, the question now is…
How do you present the new idea?
Although your marketing team will (for sure) give you a small eye roll, it’s totally okay to say that you heard about a tactical item that you think will work for your clientele. Just make sure you also quickly move to the next point and describe WHY you think your clients will respond to this item.
Being able to explain how this item will fit with your current strategy is a huge part of effective marketing. But at this point, it’s still okay if you don’t have all the costs and logistic worked out. (That’s what your team is for.)
The point is that you have to engage your marketing folks. If you can strategically think through your marketing plan and transition your point of view, you’re in a good spot. Having the clarity to scrutinize a new tactic is what matters most. That’s the only way to improve your overall marketing strategy.
From there, you can rely on your marketing team to complete the research and identify if that tactic Jack was raving actually about fits your mix, and more importantly: WHY it will make your phones ring.
