January is such an interesting month…
While some may be buzzing with motivation, refreshed from a much-needed break — amped up by resolutions, and the promise of new opportunities.
They’re off the races with multiple projects on the go, so much so, that they ignore the inevitable dip that is around the corner.
Failing to market when you’re busy is the sure fire way to feel the full force of the rebound effect found in rollercoaster marketing.
(it’s a recipe for disaster — I spoke about this trend here)
At the other end of the spectrum, some may feel like it’s Groundhog Day, getting back on the hamster wheel for another 365 days, already counting down to the next public holiday.
For the latter, it can feel like the most dormant period of their business — slowly watching their cash reserves whittle down, while they silently bank for the end of January flurry of enquiries (if they come at all).
When we feel the pinch, we’re likely to stick to our guns and do what we’ve always done.
- Hit the phones
- Follow up on some emails
- Try to reconnect with some old clients
- Put up a few posts on social media
- Discount
- Cross our fingers
- Hope for the best
But things might be different this year, and the early year hustle that paid off last year, may now have diminishing returns.
There’s two reasons for this.
- The structure of how we communicate is rapidly changing
- The essence of strategic planning and decision making is adapting along with it
Traditional approaches to strategy are often seen as the answer to change and uncertainty — they assume a stable and predictable world.
In today’s world — ‘we’ve always done it this way’ is the precursor to defeat (in close company with mountains of stress brought from poor decision)
They map out revenue goals in the canopy, but they fail to create the branches that allow for the climb up.
I.e. they want to hit XX in sales revenue, but don’t understand the ‘cost’ of growth, and the investment required to achieve the target. In addition, there is no documentation around the process or the resources involved in developing a predictable campaign or system to scale them up.
But not all is lost — to quote Anthony Greenbank;
“To live through an impossible situation, you don’t need the reflexes of a Grand Prix driver, the muscles of a Hercules, or the mind of an Einstein.
You simply need to know what to do.”
There IS still a way to establish better decision making and create predictability and sustainable growth within your business, driven by strategic marketing activities.
Adaptability is the new competitive advantage, and that’s what strategy in the new economy thrives in (this is a big topic within the Harvard Business community).
We just need to slightly shift our lens, and focus on the right areas.
The Ability to Create Momentum (and keep it with proactive, leveraged activities)
The Ability to Read and Act on Signals (understanding our key data points, and direct feedback)
The Ability to Experiment (everything is a process of refine, and review)
The Ability to Have Interchangeable Systems (not having to re-invent the wheel, maximising existing assets)
These abilities are built around the three core pillars of Market, Offer, and Presence; which use key models in building the foundation from which decisions are run through.
The extension of this process is Campaign, then Scale — to create specific marketing activities that are driven on outcomes, and return on investment.
This isn’t just theory
This is proven across multiple industries across the world, and reinforced time and time again in client results.
It’s cliche, but there is deep truth rooted in the notion that nothing changes, if nothing changes.
The sooner you start, the sooner you can experience the 8th wonder of the world — compound growth…
Successful campaigns build on each other, and that is where the true tipping point is reached.
Like the investment catch cry — time in market beats timing the market every time.
Once we acknowledge that it is our responsibility for our current situation, and start finding the gaps.
From here, we can actively curate our future situation, rather than waiting for the timing or some divine intervention.
Here’s to a great finish to January, and even better start to February
Zac
Ps. I touch on Market, Offer, and Presence in a free guide here, this will only be online for another 10 days before we start to launch our new material for 2020.
Pps. I’ll be releasing new topics weekly here