This brings me to the most important ingredient found in any successful outcome…
… consistency with the resolve part.
We’re all determined to do something new this year right?
Well, to make it happen you got to first decide, then act, then keep going.
It’s my simple formula for success in anything – D – A – K.
But, simple or not, it’s the “keep going” part that is the hardest.
Marketing buzzards tend to ignore this “hard part” too – they would rather sell you a shiny new object, get the sale, then run out the door.
It’s why the art of building, developing, and nurturing relationships around a “client for life” philosophy may be gone forever.
All you need today is a landing page with an e-commerce checkout and a fancy promise and you’re in the money.
It reminds me of Facebook‘s early mantra—”move fast, break things.”
Sadly, that mantra has come full circle as much of the digitally connected world we now live in is indeed, broken.
And the “fast” part has helped the accelerate our digital demise by …
… reducing attention spans…
… creating a short-termism mentality for both brands and consumers…
… facilitating dopamine-induced vanity metrics and addiction to social media outcomes …
… and single handily destroyed the sanctity of trust with consumers.
Here are some marketing resolutions that you may consider adding to your list:
Slow Down
There is a saying in the horse racing world that “pace makes the race.” It’s no different in life, business, and the marketing World. Remember, YOU control the pace, make it your own, slow it down enough so you can orient, observe, decide, then act.
For more on this powerful concept, check-in with Yoda (Google)—type in “OODA Loop.” You’ll thank me later.
Relevance Rules
Steve Jobs used to have a daily ritual where he pretended every day was going to be his last day on earth and asked himself if what he was about to do was worth that precious time. If the answer was no two, three, or four days in a row, he knew he had to do something different.
Ask yourself the same question, you’re worth it.
Apply the “Who Cares?” Test
If you are brand launching a new product or service, or trying to create an advertisement, writing a personal bio, or even writing out your first resume (do they still do that?)—ask yourself the following question:
“Does this pass the who cares test?“
It’s a powerful filter for what comes next. Make it your truth serum and keep it real.
Make a Dent in Your Universe
The only real way to make a “dent in the universe” is through repetition and consistency. The same goes for marketing. I always say, “there are no rules in marketing except one—consistency.”
Common sense, sure. But remember it’s the “keep going” part that is the hardest—don’t give up.
For brevity’s sake, I’ll stop at four, but encourage you to keep going at whatever it is you decide to act on this year.
Godspeed!
Marketing Manifesto
Now that I’ve gotten my new year’s marketing resolution out of the way, what say ye explore some of the ill-gotten spoils of my arch-nemesis—the wretched marketing buzzard.
Beware, kind folks, the marketing buzzard, for they are most certainly …
… “all hat, no cattle,” (as they say in Texas.)
It seems the more I look around at today’s marketing and the effect these sinister marketing buzzards have on today’s advertising messaging of brands—the more aware I become.
And the more I pay attention to the marketing that’s all around me, trying mightily to suffocate me with the incessant messaging, spamming, and interruption—the more I see clearly what it is…
… a world filled with inauthentic bull$#it artists who think I’m stupid.
And sorry, they think you’re stupid too. (Just keeping it “really” real here!)
Don’t believe me?
Put down your ad blocker gamma-ray destroyer device for a minute and pay close attention to the ads being served to you…
… do your friends speak to you like that?
Well, unless your friends are marketers or in the ad business, let’s hope they don’t speak to you like that!
The point…
… brands are trying way too hard these days, so much so, that they’ve almost created alter egos—an alternative version of themselves that, like the con artist, will say “anything” to get you to “believe.”
If they can get you to “believe,” then you will “buy.”
Imagine an evil marketing professor cooking up dangerous advertising potions with messaging so pleasing and convincing your willpower is overtaken by a zombie dopamine bot that forces you to believe, believe, believe, and then buy, buy, buy!
Scary world, right?
Well, the marketing truth is scarier than fiction!
Let’s close this little ditty with my marketing buzzard resolution for the new year.
Here goes:
My new year’s marketing resolution is to not fall prey to the dangerous marketing buzzards who circle endlessly above, instilling a “fear of missing out (FOMO)” on every sales offer, who squawk false narratives about brand purpose, who insist on interrupting my daily life with “their important message,” while trying to take my belief system hostage and corrupt the foundation of my soul.
Yea, I know, I’m pretty hard on those marketing buzzards.
What’s your new year’s resolution?
Stay unruly ~