Written by We’re all guilty of it.
We’re all guilty of pouring time, effort & money into our marketing strategies, seeing them work, and then simply replicate them over and over again.
It makes things move quicker, and you know that strategy works. But what happens when this magic formula you’ve built runs out of magic? What happens when you stop seeing a positive ROI on the marketing strategy you’ve grown comfortable operating in?
What happens, in short, is you’re screwed…unless you adapt and learn to innovate quickly.
The reality is, as technology, audiences and the way the world consumes everything changes, its your responsibility, to never let yourself get comfortable– even if something’s working– because the second you do, the three following things happen:
You Stop Listening
When you get comfortable with your strategy, that typically means you also get comfortable with the idea that you know audience(s) to a tee. And the problem with that comfort, is that you start to assume your audience will respond positively to your initiatives because you think they simply should.
This assumption leads people to continue doing as should be expected instead of listening to what your audiences really want and how their ideas, habits and views change over time.
Ever heard the saying, “Don’t assume things, it makes an a** out of you and me”?
That applies to the practice of getting comfortable with your marketing strategy and stopping listening to what your audiences are really trying to tell you.
You Stop Learning
This is probably the biggest danger of getting comfortable with your marketing strategy, because it has the ability to get you and your team stuck in the old ways of marketing while the rest of the world zooms past you and picks up your clients along the way.
Once you find something that works in your marketing strategy, it’s so easy to want to continually do it over and over again– especially if you poured your heart, brainpower and time into the very first iteration of that strategy piece.
And while it’s perfectly okay and normal to repeat that same piece a few times, it’s not going to last forever. Newer, shinier strategy elements will come along, and if you’re too focused on what worked so well years ago instead of testing and thinking of new trends and ideas, you’ll just be lost, tired and behind your competition when you’re finally forced to adapt.
You Stop Leading
Leadership is the result of constant listening and learning, so the second you get comfortable with your marketing strategy and stop listening and learning, you also stop leading.
If you’re not keeping up with what your audience really wants or learning new ways people are innovating in your field, your status as a leader will come to a very abrupt halt.
Leaders are always listening, learning and figuring out ways to better themselves and what they do. So by that logic, leaders never get comfortable. They find comfort in innovation. They find comfort in true success. They find comfort in discomfort.
So while you may have found the magic formula for success in your marketing strategy, it’s only a matter of time before the magic runs out.
Simply put, to avoid falling behind, keep your mind and marketing strategy open to innovation.
NMR Storytelling 