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The Biggest Danger Facing Your Business
I recently wrote about the television show House and how the arc of the show is a great metaphor for what it takes to grow. Last night, I was watching an episode, and one of his apprentices froze because they were afraid that making a mistake could worsen the patient’s condition, and possibly even kill him.
House moved forward with the treatment, which turned out to provide the insights he needed to solve the mystery. A dialogue went on between House and the apprentice. The essence of the conversation was that the apprentice asked House, “How can you keep doing what you do when you know you could be wrong – and being wrong could kill the patient.”
House responded: “Being wrong could kill the patient, being afraid to be wrong will kill the patient.”
Wow! I thought. That nails business on its head, in any market – but especially in bad markets. Today, I see executive after executive frozen, fearful that they could make a mistake that could kill their business. The fear is well founded. Business is always risky, and it’s especially risky today. Questions like, “will customers buy this,” “can we deliver on the promise,” “how will we sell this,” and “can we make the changes internally to make this happen,” are all reasonable and appropriate questions. Failing to have the answer, however, is no reason to slow down the implementation. These are all questions that need to be answered, as you are changing – not before.
Pick a course of action, get to work – and then make the quick adjustments you need to make, communicate clearly and execute. Today, making a mistake could hurt your business, and the fear of making a mistake will kill it.
Kill Differentiation
For quite some time, the word differentiation has been driving me crazy. Similar to the term “brand,” the term “differentiation” is a result that has been turned into a mean by marketing consultants seeking to create revenue streams.
- It has become a verb – “I want to differentiate my offering.”
- It has become a value judgment – “We are more differentiated than our competitors.”
- It has become a battle cry – “Differentiate or Die!”
The reality is twofold: a) we are by definition different, and b) differentiation correlates with success, but it is not the cause of it. People do not buy things because they are different, they buy things because they perceive them as better.
I recommend that we replace with word “differentiate” with “uniqueness.” I like unique better – it’s clearer. You’re unique or you are not – you can’t be “a little” or “very” unique.
It’s Not About Ads – It’s About Effectiveness
With the Super Bowl over, the conversation is certain to focus to one degree or other on the commercials. If you follow any marketing commentary, you have certainly heard debate over the last week about whether the $3 million paid for a 30 second ad was worth it.
My opinion on the matter (as I’ve written before) is that there are typically far more effective things companies could do with that type of money to make connections with buyers and grow their businesses. Though I do understand that there are strategic reasons that one would advertise on the Super Bowl, it is the one place left in America where people of all demographics and psychographics are together.
The point of this post is not whether or not your should spend $3 million for an ad – it’s what are you going to do with any money you spend on advertising, promotion, or community building. The vast majority of readers of this blog would not even consider advertising on the Super Bowl, but I see them make the exact same mistake that Super Bowl advertisers make – and they do it with money more precious to them.
The mistake is highlighted with the annual homage paid to the famous Coca-Cola commercial featuring Mean Joe Greene. There was even a remake of the ad last night.
What’s the mistake you ask? After all, it won awards, it’s remembered and loved. The mistake (at least according to Sergio Zyman, the Chief Marketing Officer of Coca-Cola who pulled the ad) was that it didn’t increase sales – and that is the purpose of advertising and marketing.
Some of the ads last night were funny, most were inane and none stood out. I did an informal survey of my guests at halftime and while people could remember the ads, they could not remember who advertised.
Too often, companies of all shapes and sizes chose to do the popular and/or predictable thing rather than the effective thing. Let’s face it – it’s easier to make a commercial (or a message) that’s funny than it is to make one that is effective. To be effective, you must:
- Clearly focus on who you are trying to communicate with
- Fully understand the person you are trying to communicate with (this, by the way is the most difficult thing to do), and
- Clearly communicate why the person you are trying to communicate with should care what you are saying.
The reality is that if Super Bowl advertisers did these three thing alone, there would be far less controversy about spending the money to advertise. The point for executives of small and mid-sized companies looking to connect with growth opportunities is that it doesn’t matter how much you spend, you must do the hard work or you are wasting whatever money you do spend.
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Resources
Doug's Washington Business Journal Columns- Intelligent Growth Articles
Third Wave Selling Blog
Products to Grow
