Shorten up : When things go sideways as they sometimes will, return to the basics. They’ll keep you in the game. (I know you know this, but do you practice it?)
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This is an intentionally short post
Competitors in every arena have a tendency to get fancy. To adorn their thoughts and movements with bling and as a consequence make their path to success more complicated than necessary.
Keep your margin for error small
When marketing misses the mark, it’s often when brands attempt to accomplish too much before their audiences are ready and/or before they’ve accurately identified the problem they’re solving. Another feature here and benefit there, then one more because why not (?) and in a snap they’ve lost their organizing principle and their message has spun out of control. They’ve widened their margin for error by introducing movements that increase risk but not the probability of achieving a high ROI or CLV.
It’s similar to a long backswing in golf or tennis, when a player adds complexity in the name of progress and ends up spraying the ball in unintended directions. When this happens to me (and it has happened more than once), I shorten up by eliminating every movement that doesn’t accrue to hitting a solid shot. I ditch the bling and narrow the focus.
Here’s how I think about it with my teams
We give ambitious new concepts a try, extend when they work and shorten up when they don’t. Over time the shortening up gets shorter and less pronounced, the fine-tuning more fine. The tweaks you need to nail the shot/campaign/strategy become smaller and smaller, inline with your unconscious competence. The process accelerates success because you’re working smarter and taking intelligent chances. You’re managing your margin for error while at the same time driving positive change.
Three reasons shortening up is a path to growth
Remember: the longer the backswing, the bigger the (potential) whiff. That’s physics. Manage your risk-return profile (e.g. your budget vs your ROI benchmark) with savvy and adjust according to conditions. It’s effective.
The more straightforward (and frequently shorter) the story, the better your audience will be able to put it to work for themselves. That’s good marketing, from acquisition through retention. Inform, improve, and help. Don’t overwhelm.
To win the game, stay in the game. That’s competition. Limit unforced errors and wins will follow.
The basics: always in style, frequently nuanced, never as easy as they sound.
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Also on the blog: Sand Mode, A Brand Statement, Unstuck Shortcuts, Creative Experiments, A CLV Restart, Workshop This Way