Marketers beware of “Perfection Paralysis”

If you ever found yourself in a situation where while putting together a massive integrated marketing communications campaign with all the bells and whistles, and after having researched for weeks and weeks with a mountain of data… you still got nothing, you are suffering from perfection paralysis.

For those lucky to be in marketing, we are inundated with “stuff” on a daily basis: budgets, projections, sales quotas, demographic data, messages, trends, laws, creative direction, production time, conceptualization, logistics, analytics, among many other variables…our mission [often impossible] is putting all of these things together in a comprehensive strategic model, fast.

If you are anything like me, we are often focused on making sure all of it is “perfect”, zero margin of error, and working like clockwork. 9 out of 10 times this won’t happen, and how you react to this fact as the marketing expert for your company is what makes a difference.

Understanding that “perfect” is not efficient, and just plain “good” is a far more practical and strategic route is the key. More to the point, market trends change and evolve faster than you can strategize, so it is better to set in place a “good” campaign to yield results with the ability to tweak it as you go, than not to have anything at all because you are still stuck formulating the “perfect” way to go. 

Fernando

Using QR codes for the WOW factor.

Do you know what are QR codes? A QR code (short for Quick Response) is a 2D codes readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. Its the way of the future! 
QR codes can be placed in as little as business cards: 

And as big as a billboard:

The sky is the limit really. QR Codes can give your business that "competitive edge" you are looking for by tagging a video, your contact information, coupons, etc. and generate instant leads or sales.

Marketing 101: Going retro can be the new thing.

Marketing is tough nowadays. It takes well educated decisions to make it work since in today’s economy marketing budgets are under the microscope. So, how can you get more with –possibly- less?

Let’s start by admitting that If marketing professionals would be in the Army, we would be the 1st battalion, front row, ready to fight. Let’s face it we are the business gurus, the how-to people, and the point-to-persons.

So, how do you tackle today’s complex business needs with the most optimized and cost effective strategies? Well, it turns out we need to go back to basics…Marketing 101. For every marketing challenge known today, the basic marketing steps we learn way back when traditional media was king…still are applicable:

1. What is the service/product
2. What is the source of the need that needs to be fulfilled
3. Bring “fresh eyes” to look at the problem
4. Establish clean, quantitative goals
5. Know your audience
6. Look at your messaging
7. What are the critical trends in the market? Or what is the momentum in the market?
8. Benchmark yourself
9. Track the results

Later in this series I will be discussing each individual point outlined here.