It's time to fear the rack

Change is inevitable in today's work environment, especially for marketers. Information is disseminated at an incredible speed. Feedback is almost instantaneous. Consumer preferences and needs change rapidly. The only constant in today's marketing environment is change. Yet, in business, especially large businesses, we fight change. We exhaust ourselves trying to maintain the status quo. It's known, it's comfortable, it keeps most people employed.

But maintaining the status quo doesn't lead to long term growth. It leads to long-term erosion. Maintaining the status quo allows for other companies to move quickly, and take advantage of the ever changing marketplace.

So, why are so many people in businesses afraid of change? In his book, Survival is Not Enough, Seth Godin posits that those that fight to maintain the status quo face two different ways to "die", death by guillotine and death by rack. Death by guillotine is swift, painful. It's the idea that one big failure, and everything is gone. Fear of death this way looms large, and people avoid it. The thing is, no one fears death by the rack, a long slow death that is often more painful.

This idea really stuck with me. Not because of its morbidity, but because it really opened my eyes. In marketing, how often do we use the term "thinking outside the box"? It's the idea of breaking from the norm, but how many people are still grasping the box? Rather than going big they step outside the norm, but no so much as anything appears to be radical. But to a greater extent, how many managers drive this behavior? It's the fear of the guillotine, the idea that if I try or propose something radical, and it fails, my livelihood is on the line.

In order to be a successful marketer, not only do you need to overcome the fear of the guillotine, you need a support structure that encourages you to take those chances and those risks. In his book, Godin sites an example at FedEx. A failed idea ended up costing the company nearly $300 million. This was an opportunity for FedEx to drive the fear of the guillotine so deep into the culture that no one would ever dream of taking big risks again. Instead, they used it is a positive example. It galvanized the employees. It told them that if you are passionate about an idea or an approach, we will back you up. It encouraged them to take risks, and in the long run has lead to many rewards.

As marketers, in order to be successful, and to help drive our business, we need to not only step outside the box, but we need to get off the table, out of the room, and down on the street. We need to look for opportunities to embrace the change that we see around us and take advantage of the opportunities it presents. And, we need a support structure that allows us to do this.

Change is inevitable, it's how we, and our organizations handle it that will make all the difference in the long term. It's time to fear the rack more than the guillotine.

Reset...Refocus

It's easy to get caught up in the internal processes and hurdles that we as marketers face everyday (I plan on doing a post on this at some point). The trick though, is to not let these become the object of our focus. We fight, we get frustrated, we go back and forth, and ultimately we lose focus on what is really important, on why we do what we do.

I know that for me, the reason I got into marketing was because of the customers. Yes, I know that sounds a little altruistic, but bear with me. When I think about what I love (not like, but truly love) about marketing, it's trying to figure out how to convince someone out there that has a need that my product is the best one to satisfy this need. It means understanding what makes that person tick, what is important to them, how they think. It's like trying to solve a puzzle, each and every time. And in marketing (moreso than sales), I have an opportunity to shape not only the message, who that message is targeted to, how that message is delivered, and all of the various components of the message. I get to figure out how to make people aware that there is a message, find people that want to hear the message, and empower the sales team to deliver the message. I hope that a lot of people in marketing feel this way too (I would say people reading this blog, but I know there are only about 5 of you).

Yes, I spend a lot of my day working on reports, arguing over pricing, responding to urgent requests, and dealing with internal obstacles. We all do. The problem is when these things take over, and take you away from your customer focus. Sometimes, you just need to stop, take a breath, hit the reset button, and refocus yourself on what is important.

Today was one of those days for me. But now, I'm refocused on solving the puzzle that is a customer.

The Best Kept Secret

"You may not have heard, but we have a great portfolio for this..."; "You probably aren't aware, but we've made great strides doing this..."; "You may not know, but we have the best..." The list goes on.

These comments are great when positioned to the customer. You can talk to your potential customers about all the things that you have done to make your product better for them. However, these comments are not good when you are telling them to your own team.

Something cannot be the best or the greatest or the most improved if no one knows about it, especially your internal audience. It drives me crazy when people tell me that I may not have heard, or I may not know. I work for the company, in the group, and I have no idea. How are my customers supposed to know? How am I supposed to market to them? Why are we keeping secrets from ourselves, and from our customers?

It's one thing to not tell customers about a project that is in the early stages of R&D, or to share proprietary information. It is a completely different thing to not tell customers that you've made strides in improving how you service equipment so that it is more reliable, or that you have a broad portfolio of products to help customers get more out of their current system. and it's a down right shame to not tell your own sales and service organization that you've been working on, or made these developments.

I've often heard the phrase "Best Kept Secret in the Industry". Why would anyone want this title? Basically it means you have a great product/service, but since you don't talk about it, no one knows about it, and thus no one buys it. This approach can really only go one of two ways. Either someone very vocal and influential finds out about your product/service and begins singing your praises, and you go from "Best Kept Secret" to "Best". Or, you remain a secret, languish, and struggle to survive.

It's not ok to simply talk to yourself about yourself; you probably are not the one buying your product (especially in my industry). Rather you need to talk to customers, and empower your marketers to do the same (this is a whole other discussion, but the basic premise is don't put obstacles up to prevent you from being able to talk to your customers).

Next time you catch yourself saying "We have the best widget", stop and think. Does everyone know you have the best widget? Or have you just been telling yourself? It's easy to be the best in your own mind. It's quite different to be the best to everyone else.

I'm back

Ok, I've been away from the blog for too long. I realized that I spent too much time trying to write the perfect blog post instead of just letting my ideas flow. It's time to correct that mistake, and use this as an outlet to comment on marketing good and bad, within and outside my own organization. Ultimately I don't want to be thought of as an employee of a certain customer, but a marketer first, industry specific second, and working for a particular company last. I hope that my ideas can spread beyond my day to day. And so, I'm going to try and return with a vengence, try to grow a little bit of a following, and see if I can't get my ideas to spread. Maybe then I can build my own tribe, develop my leadership skills, and expand my knowledge and understanding.