The title of this post was something I said to a co-worker many years ago as we lamented another day caught-up in too many details…managing the day-to-day fires – not being able to think about marketing strategy.
I said to him, “We talk about marketing strategy, but the only strategy we see here is in the rearview mirror.” At the time, we thought it was pretty funny and clever, but I have never forgotten that simply because strategy should always remain clearly in front of us.
A Common Dialog About Marketing Strategy
Truthfully, though…this is probably more common than we think – at both small and even larger companies. Sure, strategic initiatives may abound, and many businesses have “strategic goals,” but I have had countless conversations with business owners that usually go something like this:
Me: “Understood. I’m guessing you have some specific revenue goals you would like to hit?”
Business owner: “Definitely. Our goal is to increase sales by $3 million within five years.”
Me: “Your business is doing $3 million annually now; that’s a pretty aggressive goal. You want to double revenue in five years…do you guys have a plan? Marketing plan? Sales plan?”
Business owner: “We haven’t had time to make a plan…”
Failing to Plan = Planning to Fail
Chances are pretty good that without a plan, most lofty goals are in severe jeopardy of fading from sight in your rearview mirror.
Some of you may be chuckling. Many of you know exactly what I am talking about. We have all operated businesses or led initiatives without plans or created what at best might be called a “thinly-veiled” attempt at a plan. On the flip-side, I have written and used many plans, and while never perfect, I would take a plan any day over “winging it.”
So, let’s get this straight: Many of us are operating businesses with the notion that it will:
1) Provide a paycheck to feed our families and ourselves.
2) Create livelihoods and career paths for our employees.
3) Allow us to remain hyped about our good fortune of being able to manage and grow a business.
4) And most of us probably hope to build the business to a point where it is saleable, can be passed-on to a family member, or at the very least, something that can sustain us until we retire, and provide us with enough funds so that we can retire.
But, there is no plan? No real strategic path to get to those things we so desperately want and need?
Plan the Work. Work the Plan.
Speaking of being able to sell your business at some point, did you know that approximately only one in one hundred* small businesses are even worth selling?
*Built to Sell, John Warrillow
Companies that are worth purchasing have a plan and are intentional about building a business that works and creating a business that has value.
It has often been said that a business should be built with the notion that it will be sold even if that is not the initial intention of the owners or management team.
Interesting factoid: Approximately 80% of small businesses fail after five years in the US. Flip side: 75% of franchises succeed at Year Five. Why? Plans and Systems.
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We Can’t Fly So Why Do We Wing It?
Whether it is a prospective client or students in my classes at Webster University, I often pose this question, “If you had to drive 1,700 miles for an important event in three days, what would you do?” The replies vary from, “Dude, I’d fly…” to “Use my GPS…” or “If my phone wasn’t working, I’d use a map…”
The point is that you probably would not “wing it” given the goal, distance, and time constraint. So, how is your business any different? Why on Earth do we “wing” operating and growing our businesses when so much is riding on it?
Because marketing strategy and planning are difficult. Strategy and planning require significant Thought. Discipline. Knowledge. Time. Courage.
Courage? Yes. Strategy and planning invariably cross into the great “unknown” – where fear fills the scary blank space on the screen or notebook (if you’re old school). The void that sucker-punches you from the inside because you really aren’t sure how you’re going to do the marketing next year. Or the sales plan, so that your team is working smarter not just harder. Or the plan to elevate customer service and the customer experience to the next level. Or how you’re going to fund these initiatives.
Is the “F” Word Really So Bad?
But what is the biggest reason people do not plan or nail down their strategy? I believe it is due to two words that begin with an “F.”
The first is Focus. Because we are doing so many things every single day with most of our people and teams working in silos, it is very difficult to focus on the most important things that are longer-term than this week or this month. Unfortunately, that often involves our strategy…or lack thereof.
The second is Failure. More specifically, the fear of failure. Because if a plan is in writing, it is real, defined, and measurable. If the plan fails, and you created the plan (or at least contributed to it), then technically, you have failed, too. And there are always possibilities that you may not reach the goal or numbers in a plan. Maybe you don’t know “what” kind of marketing is needed to help drive sales; or maybe you know that the discipline needed to work the plan is the next best thing to a joke because you and your team are already wearing 14 different hats. In any case, the plan should provide us with a strategic roadmap of how to get to the objectives and goals. But, it may not work. Scary.
So, if we don’t focus and face our fear of failure and end up with lousy results, we don’t have to own the failure as much because we never had a plan to begin with; kind of like no harm, no foul.
On the flip side, if we succeed without a strategy, we can rejoice in winging it triumphantly chanting, “Who needs to waste time planning and strategizing, anyway!?”
But for most mere mortals, success requires a strategic plan, which requires Focus and likely the acknowledgement of some Fear of Failure. Perhaps, if we viewed “F” words differently, we would be more strategic.
Marketing Strategy Drives the Bigger Picture
Business owners and human beings in general are fascinating; we just want to keep doing what we have always done. It may not be working, but we will just keep doing it harder…or faster…or for a longer period…and somehow expect different results. The proverbial definition of insanity…over and over again.
In today’s ever changing, hyper-competitive, uber-noisy, hard-than-ever-to-communicate world in which we live, business growth requires strategic thinking and a plan.
Sticky Point: Marketing Strategy Matters
The rearview mirror shows what is behind you; not what is ahead for you and your business. Your marketing strategy needs to be clearly in front of you to move the business forward in the direction you want it to go.