Continuing my series on\u00a0digital marketing strategy\u00a0development problems, today we tackle issue #4:\u00a0 executing the bad ideas of others.<\/p>\n
The problem, as stated in the original post:<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0 Placating executives by executing their bad ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n
If this is happening to you \u2013 stop, now.\u00a0 No one wins when you\u2019re creating things merely because someone up top is forcing down a one off idea here-and-there they feel might work (especially if they have limited\u00a0 experience with digital marketing).\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t play into the strategy, it doesn\u2019t matter who it comes from.\u00a0 If you see this happening put a stop to it.\u00a0 No one wins when resources are drawn away from a winning path to placate bad ideas of the king.\u00a0 If the emperor has no clothes, say it \u2013 if you\u2019re that valued you\u2019ll be respected for it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This wasn\u2019t entirely fair to call out only executives: bad ideas can come from all directions.\u00a0 But as a strategist you need to know what elements roll to your objective and be ruthless at keeping out the junk.<\/p>\n
At a high level, you could have\u00a0devastatingly effective\u00a0tactics, but if they support an ineffective strategy they\u2019re never going to feed something larger.<\/p>\n
At a tactical level, bad ideas are equally as dangerous.\u00a0 Consider the following story from Sean Moffitt, author of\u00a0Buzz Canuck<\/p>\n
There was a guy at Labatt, a client at the time, that I think nailed it about the risk of over management, risk avoidance, paint by numbers marketing and analysis paralysis:<\/p>\n
\u201cSean, there are a ton of things you could do in an average day \u2013 marketers could feasibly work 168 hours of week and feel justified. But let me tell you \u2013 if you can find the 3 most important things to affect your brand tangibly, importantly \u2013 focus as much time, attention and effort on those and do the minimum on the rest.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In digital marketing, this is especially true:\u00a0 there\u2019s just too much at your fingertips not to be focused.\u00a0 While you also need to\u00a0experiment, having a core\u00a0focus on your formula\u00a0is too effective to ignore.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s consider a few items which cause random, unstrategic ideas, efforts and tactics to get thrown into the mix:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Different levels of understanding by all team members\u00a0<\/strong>– so when a team member reads an idea in a blog post or industry publication that \u201cfeels official,\u201d they might automatically think it\u2019s a smart move when in fact it\u2019s a terrible idea.<\/li>\n
- Everyone else is doing it<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 if someone sees another brand is having success with something like a viral video they might think \u201cwe should do that too!\u201d without any reason other than being a me too.<\/li>\n
- Case studies<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 someone will read a case study of social media success, think it\u2019s easy and want to jump into social without a fleshed out plan.<\/li>\n
- Misunderstanding of effort required<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 it \u201cseems\u201d easy to do many things internet marketing related.\u00a0 Like blog everyday.\u00a0 And while it\u2019s possible to\u00a0fit blogging into a busy schedule, it\u2019s still going to require a long-term commitment.<\/li>\n
- A division at the company or business unit \u201cjust discovered\u201d digital<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 and yet other parts of the company already have efforts buzzing along.\u00a0 What\u2019s dangerous here is the people who are new may think they know everything after going to a conference or two.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
So how do you overcome bad ideas, over management, risk avoidance, analysis paralysis, reporting at a granular level and time wasters that get in the way of great marketing?<\/p>\n
Learn to push back<\/strong><\/p>\n
If people up top are randomly throwing wrenches into your digital marketing strategies, you need to stop them.\u00a0 Say your CMO is obsessed with creating a Twitter page for your brand, yet it doesn\u2019t really make sense for your current strategy.\u00a0 Learn to push back and take a stance against it.\u00a0 If they have shiny new object syndrome without substance behind it, make a clear business case against it.\u00a0 If you\u2019re consistently getting pushed to execute bad ideas you\u2019re working with the wrong management team and need to get out.<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re that trigger-happy CMO and you\u2019ve got the right team:\u00a0 relax.\u00a0 Your tacticians and strategists are on the pulse of not just what\u2019s new \u2013 but what\u2019s important \u2013 and they\u00a0will want<\/em>\u00a0to roll in new ideas that help the program.\u00a0 But the right team is extremely conscious of scope creep and focusing efforts, they know not to add things to add things.<\/p>\n
Show opportunity cost, project loss
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nShow things like traffic or revenue you might lose by moving efforts that are working into a new area you know is the wrong approach.\u00a0 Project numbers lost and it will crystallize in people\u2019s minds this may be a slippery slope.<\/p>\n
Hedge it altogether
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nSometimes, ideas will be pushed down from others due to a lack of knowledge of the current strategy or a feeling not enough new elements are being added to a marketing mix.\u00a0 Make sure key people are up to speed on what your team is up to and the reason it\u2019s being approached in a certain way.\u00a0 Others will be less likely to disrupt a well-oiled machine if they understand what makes it run (and at that point, they may even provide ideas to make it better).<\/p>\n
Another approach is to be the one who frequently shares new ideas, tactics and methods that aren\u2019t currently being used with your whole team (management and tacticians) that do play to the strategy.\u00a0 Even if those ideas never come to fruition, sometimes others just knowing you\u2019re thinking is enough to quell random elements thrown into the mix that don\u2019t work with your strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Continuing my series on\u00a0digital marketing strategy\u00a0development problems, today we tackle issue #4:\u00a0 executing the bad ideas of others. The problem, … <\/p>\n