Author: Fabrizio

Warnings

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There is always a warning. There is always a sign.

You should be prepared, and yet you are not. Partly because it is easier to think at life as a straight, uninterrupted line. Partly because most warnings are encrypted, unclear, have mixed words, and it is only easy to spot them afterwards.

And so, when something happens to you, searching ex post for warnings and signs is pretty much useless. Think instead about where you can go from there, and whom with. That is how you will unlock the potential of the situation.

Keep at it

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The months we are living are a challenge.

And even those who are lucky enough to still have job, to have a house, a supportive family, food on their table every day, more comfort than the vast majority of the world population. They too are struggling.

We live now in a prolonged liminal phase and we do not know what we will become. As individuals, as a community, as a global society. There is a sizable and constantly present amount of stress and anxiety that is slowly eroding many of the things that used to form our identity, our belonging, our purpose.

In a time like this, we need to keep talking to each other. We need to communicate what we feel, open to other people’s emotions and find common ground. Differences do not matter now.

And we also need to keep practicing. Whatever your practice is, whatever the thing that makes you feel good, whatever the habit that anchors you to the known. Keep at it.

These are the times, after all, where resilience is built.

Data

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Data is everywhere these days, that also means we got accustomed to looking at data to find meaning in situations that are difficult to interpret.

And so, if you present numbers or percentages, be aware of two things.

First, if that is all you have to say, people will get bored fast. If you do not have a story to accompany your data, if you cannot tell what the data means to you, to your organisation, to your purpose, if you cannot express how things could look different in case an alternative path had been chosen, then the time is pretty much wasted. Sure, you can look at history and see how those numbers and percentages have evolved, compare them with similar ones, but eventually none of that will inspire action.

Second, what numbers and percentages mean to you is not necessarily in line with what they mean to somebody else. Data might be universal, their interpretation is not. And so, be prepared at being challenged and having to inspire people to believe the story you read is more accurate than others. Follow up on that, repeat, look at it from different angles, and be consistent over time.

Data can change your world, but as a matter of fact it probably isn’t now. It’s up to you to fix that.

Brand

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A part of marketing is generating sales. And a part of marketing is fostering brand.

There are some myths around this that should be debunked.

Starting with the fact that the two things are separated and can live independently. Perhaps that is true in the short term, but building a business is a long term effort, and eventually brand and sales need to go hand in hand. Brand is what gets you your best-fit customers after all.

Then, there is the idea that sales is (mainly) for the early stages of a company, and brand is for when a company already controls a certain share of the market. This is a belief that comes from an era (and we are talking about probably 10-15 years ago) when markets featured a bunch of players (say between 10 and 50 – now there are hundreds, thousands in some cases). It is also backed by the assumption that investing in brand is something only bigger companies can afford, probably because when talking about brand one thinks at tactics.

Finally, there are many who argue that generating sales is infinitely more measurable than fostering brand. And there is some true to it. But of course, the reality is that most sales-focused activities end up being not measured, mismeasured, unoptimised, and eventually most organisations just throw money at a problem without really understanding what is going on. And on the other hand, we still get emotional in front of marvellously crafted brands and often decide to buy A instead of B in the heat of the moment.

So, perhaps instead of saying that a part of marketing is generating sales and a part of marketing is fostering brand, we could say that marketing is both.

The sooner we get to look at the two things together, the sooner we will stop wondering why the 105th whitepaper is not driving pipeline or why the new logo is not resonating with our audience.

That is a waste of time.

Patches

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Many organisations mistake customer centricity for customer support or customer success.

Yet, having the customer at the core of what you do is not about being there when they need help and collecting high scores on a satisfaction survey. It is actually more about aiming at getting rid of those things, because when the customer is embedded in the business, you know already if they need help and when, whether they are happy or not, what they want to see in the product next and how their businesses are developing.

You actually know, in many cases, before they do.

So, instead of putting patches on the relationship with those who determine your (organisation’s) success, start investing time and resources in crafting the relationship. Listen. The rest will follow.