Tag: failure

Different meals

FabrizioLeave a comment

Everyone can do marketing.

It’s something most marketers have heard at one point or another of their career.

Of course, what that means is that everybody can do marketing tactics. Or even better, everybody can think of marketing tactics.

Because marketing tactics are intuitive and they are something we are exposed to (as consumers) every single day.

Where marketers can get a real edge, though, is using those tactics within the framework of a marketing strategy that fits the specific market. And do that consistently and over time, measuring results and getting better.

That’s not something everyone can do. It is actually something most people struggle to wrap their minds around.

You might think about it this ways.

On one side, you have the day when you just open the fridge, pick whatever it is that is in there, and try to organize some decent food for you lunch.

On the other side, you have the day when you plan your meal, you do grocery shopping accordingly, you follow a recipe a dear friend shared, and you end up with exactly the dish you wanted to eat.

I know which one I prefer.

Help them move forward

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you approach a customer support ticket, a negative review, a cancellation request with a defensive mindset, you will always fail.

When people approach you with a problem, they are not interested in hearing that it’s not your fault. They might be seeking a solution, a clean cut, a way to rant. Never will they want to hear a closing statement from your defence attorney.

What do you want to achieve and what do they want to achieve are two important things to consider in these cases.

You have a system to monitor your customers opinions because you want to know when things go wrong and try to remedy that, possibly changing people’s attitude towards your brand. Then why is it rarely your fault, why is confrontation often the go-to tactic, why is empathy the last thing that’s being taught to your people?

And on the other hand, customers do very often reach out because they care and they want to share. They are unsure about what happened, they are hurt because things did not work out as they expected, they want to know they have not done a terrible choice.

So, when you see a customer support ticket, a negative review, a cancellation request, keep in mind you are not there to prove a point.

You are just there to help the other move forward.

Patience and perseverance

FabrizioLeave a comment

It did not work.

Ok, but how long did you try? Was it ten minutes, two weeks, three months, one year?

People are not always immediately ready to respond to whatever it is you have on offer that will change their lives (for the better). Patience and perseverance are as important as ideation and execution.

Money doesn’t lie

FabrizioLeave a comment

Google’s mission was to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Today, 81.3% of their revenue comes from advertising, which admittedly has little to do with making information universally accessible.

Source: Visual Capitalist

Facebook’s mission was to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Today, 97.7% of their revenue comes from advertising, which admittedly has little to do with giving people the power to build community or bringing the world closer together.

Source: Visual Capitalist

If you don’t measure the right things, it’s very easy to end up in a very different place from the one you initially had in mind.

Darkest solitude

FabrizioLeave a comment

In dark times, solitude is never the answer.

Because in solitude the darkest narrative becomes the only possible one. There is no escape to negativity and self-pity if we don’t connect, don’t open up, don’t reach out.

The good news is, solitude is a choice.