BLITZKRIEG TACTICS HAVE THEIR PLACE, BUT METHODICAL AND SCHEDULED PROGRESS IS MORE LIKELY TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL RESULTS.
By Roy Harryman
Although I’m referencing Cracker Barrel, this is in no way my attempt to weigh in on its branding decisions. There have been an astonishing number of voices addressing this topic – including the president of the United States. Mine isn’t needed.
I have no inside information on the company’s decision beyond the media reports we’ve all seen. Cracker Barrel’s initiative was bold, not only revising the company’s logo, but its traditionalist interior design. Reports indicate this was the decision of the incoming CEO, who wanted to freshen things up to appeal to younger demographics.
There may have been an open-and-shut case to make the changes. I simply don’t know.
the next big thing is always … the next one
The controversy’s relevance to me is a reminder of the importance of knowing when to stick with a plan. Effective plans take time to envision, create, implement and measure.
I’ve observed visionary, enthusiastic leaders who were absolutely ecstatic about the newest thing on the scene: This was it. The silver bullet. Nirvana. An entire organization would be realigned to focus on the new thing. However, just as the realignment began to take shape, the leader lost interest and began seeking out the next big thing. Time to scrap it all and start over again.
This approach burns time, resources and trust. And at the end of the day, we haven’t left the starting line.
TWITCHY LEADERSHIP
Some personalities in leadership may not be visionary, but they are “twitchy.” It’s hard for them to wait for results. If a plan has been in place for two years and no results are forthcoming, then this impatience may be justified. But if it’s only been three months and the ink is still wet on the founding documents, then restraint is called for.
Some strategies take longer than others to produce results. But, if implemented correctly, the wait is worth it.
Few sustainable, effective actions in marketing are done in a week. Extraordinary results are created by extraordinary efforts. And extraordinary efforts take time. Conversely, it takes time to learn if something doesn’t work. Constantly swapping out tactics gives you no information and no experience to know how to move forward.
“Don’t be in such a rush to reach a goal, that you reach the goal before you are ready. … Good things take time.”
Here’s an example. If a brand’s primary sales tactic is client education, then original content must be created to meet the learning needs of the prospect. This can include video, photography, product documentation, live training and publishing. These things, if done well, do not happen in a flash.
The good news is that, once created, these educational resources can introduce a brand to customers, nurture leads and drive sales for years to come. They can also continue to evolve into new forms of media (a video is also converted into a transcript, then an e-book, then a published book). And, once a template is created for client education, it can be re-used and repurposed again and again.
A sustainable marketing effort can certainly be modified as reliable feedback provides course corrections. It’s not that it’s set in granite. But it also shouldn’t be so malleable that the plan becomes unrecognizable.
what about deadlines?
While the “twitchy” leader cited above appears concerned about rigidly adhering to timelines, this is actually not the case. The decision to pull the plug on the current campaign because of a “gut feeling” is not a reliable or verifiable standard of success. On the opposite side of the spectrum, a somewhat laissez-faire team may be reluctant to set an end-date – or at least a date to evaluate the results of the campaign.
A healthy compromise between these two extremes is for all parties to work together and set a mutually-agreeable assessment period. The campaign duration should include budget limitations, the availability of the team and the amount of time it takes to determine if it’s working. This firm date can restrain the leader who is nervously pacing the floor as well as motivate the more idealistic director who would rather not have a deadline.
The best of all worlds is when a leader gives a team time to execute the vision, tweaking it along the way. When results come in, they may be far greater than predicted. But they didn’t happen overnight or by accident. It took tenacity and perseverance.
“Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe. ”