3 Things

One of the secrets to becoming successful at anything in life is persistence. We can all work hard for a while. Head down, putting in long hours with an eye to an end goal. Why is the goal important? Because in order for us to visualize getting there, we need to know where we're going.

Setting goals used to be easier in marketing:

• write up your objectives - increased sales, higher number of orders, cross sell, etc.
• create a strategy brief - followed closely by a creative brief, usually
• set up success factors - you need to know what these are to be able to measure them
• get all your ducks in a row - remember that knowing what to do with your duck is important [nod to Seth for this one]
• do something with your duck
• gather feedback - when you measure everything every single component of your program is measurable (unique URLs, unique 800-numbers, etc.)
  
• measure - track quantitative and, if you can, qualitative data
• tweak - learn as you go, especially with landing pages and ghost Web site pages
• repeat - up for another round?

This used to work beautifully when you had (1) good lists - yes, part of that is people who want to hear from you - (2) an offer people associated value with, and (3) a good phone voice - telemarketing when done right can be a real asset.

Today of course, everything looks like one of those terribly confusing European jokes where the mechanic is French, the lover is German, the cook is British, and the police is Italian. It's all scrambled.

With the addition of social media persuasions into the mix, we end up selling first (sometimes), tweaking on the fly, achieving results we would have not thought of, along with tons of feedback, and no repeatable actions. Or so it seems. All for the modest price of endless attention and time.

I'm not saying that a disciplined approach does not work anymore. What I'm saying is that it works with increasing precision in lesser ways. The model meets a new reality and needs some rethinking. In order words, more of the same may not work out so much.

The question then is, do we push through the current challenges as is, or do we alter ourselves to meet this new landscape?

We'll continue this conversation with your ideas tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I wanted to leave you with 3 things:

(1) know your friends, communities and peers is the new good list - there is no way around that. The reason why I like to meet people in conversation is that, as Geoff says, I want to look them in the avatar... ahem, the eye and find out what they are about.

(2) offer value - my friend Andy Nulman has never asked anything of me, not once. Yet, the last time I was in Montreal, he bought dinner. Andy knows how to spot all the great stuff that makes us pause and take notice. He blogged from Milano last year about things I would have not learned otherwise. His dream is to hit the NYT bestseller list with his new book, POW! Right Between the Eyes! Who am I to stand in the way of a dream? This is a bit selfish, too - I want you to know how to become a better marketer.

(3) listen - having a good phone voice means that you are hearing that of the person on the other end. And for that I was busily at work creating a page on this blog that is all about you. Head on over there and find out why networking is more than a device for creative media free-lancers, or a rescue package for redundant executives.

And if I'm helping you become a better marketer, do drop a note.

Tomorrow, we will answer the question - do we push through the current challenges as is, or do we alter ourselves to meet this new landscape?

© 2006-2009 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Hayli @ Rise Smart]

Very insightful post! As someone who now networks for business, I think back to how this all could have benefited me when I worked in sales. Business owners have to network and stay on top of new technology (or they should, anyway). But everyone should think like a business owner, not an employee, because after all, you own your career.

[bruce christensen]

Great points and priority suggestions.
I find myself awash in several task lists.
As a newbie to social networking there is so much to learn so as to be effective. We appreciate your direction on our journey to launch.

[Kare Anderson]

Following up on your story about Andy i visited his blog and book, bought 3 copies and am inspired by his practical, specific, often crack-up funny and fresh ideas... and his obvious bent towards being of value to others. Thanks for the tip!
another fan of Conversation Agent

[Howard Kang]

Your question really intrigues me because I'm currently working through similar things. I've set a solid plan and how I want to accomplish them, but have met different snags and implementing social media can be quite unpredictable. I've been noticing that it's really important, when working with social media, to remain attentive, listen, and be extremely flexible. I've been learning to adapt to situations and adjust priorities and focus points as necessary, but I'm really interested to hear your approach.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Hayli - I like your encouragement for everyone to think as if they were a business owner. That to me is the ultimate measure of personal accountability.

@Bruce - glad you added your voice to the conversation. I can't wait to hear what you and Sarah are up to with Party2.0.

@Kare - glad you also found value in Andy's work. He has a personality for sure and his office rocks!

@Howard - You are right on in terms of unpredictability, that is the main reason why marketers are not by and large embracing social media, especially in times like the current ones. I also know that this is not the kind of stuff they teach in school, either. Glad you are trying things out on your own. This will be key moving forward.

[Suzanna Stinnett]

Valeria,
If I could jump up and down in this comments box, that's what I'd be doing, with a big sign that says ADAPT! ADAPT! ADAPT! And on the back of the sign it says BOTH!
We will push through the challenge and in the process, in the fire of it, we will adapt to its demands and, for some of us, innovate the entire shape of what is to come. The beauty of this exercise, the exquisite beauty of it, is that it takes heart. Heart: courage, fortitude, openness, and love. It takes heart to do the work of innovating through constant newness, because the brain hasn't a clue what to do with newness until the heart directs its neurons. Because of that fact, our future as connected, collaborative communicators is very promising indeed.
So we push. And we adapt. Like all forms of nature.
Thank you. The conversation would be thin without your energy in it.
Suzanna Stinnett
p.s. I'll post my About tomorrow when my brain has regenerated.

[Ricardo Bueno]

I'm all for tackling new challenges and trying new things so long as I'm being helpful in some way. If I'm not, then there really is no point.