Do You Know Why You’re Going Where You’re Going?

Have you ever felt like you (or your team) are simply going through the motions without a true compass for where they are going? Our workdays are spent working hard on time-consuming tasks, but is it clear what the marketing objective behind those tasks are? If this rings true, you’re likely not alone, and that’s why I wanted to focus on June’s word of the month, objectives.

“Start with the end in mind.”

This quote from the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People author, Stephen R. Covey, lends itself well to the discussion we should always keep top of mind related to marketing objectives. It’s easy in a reactive, overloaded workplace to lose sight of how what we are doing are related to our objectives. Following a few key strategies to avoid the common pitfalls that businesses fall into:

Trending now, so we should be doing it, right?

While it’s fun, informative and sometimes hard to ignore the latest marketing trends, growth hacking tips and social media influencers who claim to know what your business needs to be doing right now, it’s not always so simple. What is trending in the marketing blogs may not make sense for your business or your industry.

Vanity metrics don’t matter (most of the time).

A vanity metric can make you feel awesome but beware of letting your passion steer you away from metrics that roll-up to your real marketing objectives. While vanity metrics, in some cases, can serve a purpose such as satisfying investor demands for results or gauging brand awareness, they are often useless because they’re not paired to a tangible marketing objective.

Not pivoting when it’s time to pivot.

The event that you’ve attended for the last seven years may not serve your current marketing objectives (and it may be monopolizing a large portion of your budget). As you face a changing landscape in your unique industry, it’s imperative to put every activity on the table and never fall into the rut of doing things “just because you’ve always done them.”

I recently had a chat with a long-time client, where had recently read an article about the affordability and effectiveness of digital advertising. Of course, digital advertising is affordable, effective and one of my specialties! On the flip side, digital advertising is not the right answer for everyone. In the case of this client, his long-term sales cycle relied on customer referrals and a strong network of word-of-mouth generated business.

At the end of the day, we worked through his marketing objectives together and realized that digital advertising (while a great option for many) did not match his unique business objectives. Your marketing plan should be tailored to fit your business. There are many trends to watch, but there is not a one size fits all approach. A trend that is succeeding in one industry may not work for you.

I can help you define and work toward your marketing objectives.

Contact me today to get started!