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A fine line between smart and stuck

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If you’ve been reading this column for  a while, you know that I am a big  believer in having a plan.  Strategy is king. Today’s marketing  dollars are too scarce to  be wasted. The fourth quarter  and early January seem to have  most marketers knee-deep in  research, budgets, what-if scenarios  and Gantt charts.

All of that is well and  good. And important. But  there is a serious danger that  you can get paralyzed in your  planning. Smart is good. Perfect  is paralysis.

Marketing is a healthy mix  of art and science. Exacting precision is  for engineers and surgeons, not marketers.  We have to settle for darn close.  The reality is we don’t have the luxury  of operating in a sterile space.We have  to function in the nitty-gritty of the real  world.We can’t control all the variables  and factors. So at a certain point in the  process, we have to walk away from  theory and leap into reality.

It feels safe to stay in planning  mode. After all, the plan looks so pristine  and right. There’s nothing  tainting the purity of it.  Once you step out and actually  launch a new initiative,  things get muddy in a hurry.

Though we can be pretty  smart and quite right during  the planning process, it’s in the  fray of the action when we get  even smarter.We can observe  reactions, listen to customers,  make little tweaks and then reevaluate.  Unlike an operating  room, the marketplace brings  nuances, unpredictable truths  and quirks of human nature.

Remember, no one ever bought a  product or service from a Gantt chart.

  • Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan  Marketing Group and the  author of “99.3 Random Acts of  Marketing.” He can be reached at  Drew@MclellanMarketing.com.  © Drew McLellan

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