We all measure success by some kind of ruler, and this ruler needs to have two characteristics.
It needs to be consistent. So that you can measure ups and downs over time, and maintain the course on the same objective (or set of objectives).
And it needs to be relevant. To you, and to those you seek to serve, your audience, your people.
If you change the ruler, distort the scale, zoom in and zoom out, what you get is not a consistent and relevant measure of your success.
One thing I like about the competing value framework is that it puts the emphasis on intentional choices when it comes to culture.
You can foster an environment that focuses on results and delivery, and that means you will probably have to forgo the type of company where people work together in harmony. You can prefer to take decisions at the highest levels of the hierarchy and ensure that everything is checked by a manager before it is ready for the public, and that means you will probably not get a lot of new ideas or retain people that seek a purpose in what they do.
Clearly, things can change over time, and extremely successful companies find ways to position towards the center of the matrix. But choices play a key role in defining culture. Whether they are intentional or the product of habits, just do not be surprise when you’ll find yourself exactly where you ought to be.
In these times of change, we are going to stick to the plan.
Of course, you do not hear that. And that is proof of how poor plans usually are (for those who have plans at all), as well as of how impatient people grow when things do not work right here and right now.
The fact is, it is always times of change. Not always a pandemic, clearly, but a new competitor, a new market, a new boss, a new product, a new opportunity, a new regulation, a new standard, a new consumer behaviour.
Change is a given, in business as it is in life.
Hiding behind it to motivate bending the rules, going against your identity, cutting on kindness, should be done with extreme care.
Most awful ideas, plans, products, services in business happen because nobody had the courage to speak against them.
It is a difficult thing to do when everybody is aligned. The risk (being excluded, being rejected, being fired) is just to big.
Many companies preach diversity of thought and the possibility to raise flags, very few though seek that with intention.
So next time try scheduling a meeting to collect issues. Send an invite to a workshop to identify risks and pitfalls. Have a chat with that experienced colleague to challenge your assumptions.
When is the last time you felt good about somebody trying to outsmart you?
Probably, never.
Yet, most B2B marketing feels like a run at outsmarting the customer. Obscure language, unclear pricing, absurd experiences, inconsistent services. And that is mainly because at some point the company decides that their product is better than anything else, and it is the customer’s job to pay attention, put in the effort, understand the ins and outs, and be wow’ed.
It might indeed be that your product is good. But as a marketer, your role is to remind yourself of the challenges you faced when moving from somebody who knew nothing about it to somebody who knows enough to tell about it.
From somebody who is on a 2 to somebody who is on a 7 on the scale below.
| 10 | Is world’s leading expert on the idea. |
| 9 | Can ask expert questions and generate new information/data on the idea. |
| 8 | Can answer expert questions and reconcile contradictory thoughts about the idea. |
| 7 | Can answer any layman’s question and forms independent thoughts on the idea. |
| 6 | Can answer any layman’s question and forms intelligent opinions on the idea. |
| 5 | Knows about the idea, and can discern inaccurate statements about the idea. |
| 4 | Knows about the idea, and can explain what’s been learned in one’s own words. |
| 3 | Heard of the idea, and recites what others have said about it. |
| 2 | Heard of the idea, but doesn’t know anything about it. |
| 1 | Never heard of the idea. |
Marketing is not a competition. It is not about outwitting your customer, finding smarter ways to express complex concepts, putting on display all the knowledge you have.
Marketing is about going back to your journey across the scale and bringing some customers along.
If you succeed in this, you succeed in marketing.
You've got this 