Marketing Discipline and the Joy of Success
Discipline Is Important. I recently read an article about why discipline is important to a marketer. The author said that undisciplined people only live for today. He added that disciplined people use a little of their time for pleasure, and then invest the rest of their time in the future. Disciplined people get out of their armchair and do something. This takes effort and willpower. On the other hand, undisciplined people squander their time and their money. It takes discipline to be a successful at business and in life. While I fundamentally agree with this premise, there is something about the concept of discipline that sounded tough...agonizing, even. I had to take some time to think this through. As a person who believes free time and relaxation, how can this still apply? Can a person be both a pleasure seeker and disciplined? Are You A Grasshopper or An Ant? Does a person have to make a choice between being the fabled lazy grasshopper or the hardworking ant? You know the story. The ant slaves away all summer creating shelter and storing seeds for the winter while the grasshopper laughs and dances and sings, thinking the ant is a fool. Come winter, the ant is cozy and well fed. The grasshopper perishes from hunger and the cold. Both of those guys were flawed, in my opinion. One had no sense of community and the other, no joy or humor. And it made me start thinking. I'm a marketing expert. I spend my days developing marketing strategies for my clients and I work to market my own business. Does it take discipline? Well, the answer, of course, is a big "Yes!" Does that mean that in order to be successful, I have to be like the ant? Am I relegated to the role of schlepping my days away carrying seeds back to the nest for the winter? Well...no, I think not. All work and no play makes for a dull girl. As a creative person, I know taking that route would be a sure path to stagnation. Plus, I don't like to think of myself as stodgy. Do you know what the thesaurus has next to stodgy? Try blah, boring, humdrum, plebeian, trite, uninteresting, and wearisome. Ugh! Discipline is a Practice But, I'm not like the frivolous grasshopper, either. Because I AM disciplined. I do invest ongoing time in various endeavors that will have a payoff in the future. Yet, none of my day-to-day activities are agonizing for me. I love working on my business, my clients are wonderful, and I feel completely fulfilled by my outside interests, my home, and my friendships. And, these things each take ongoing care, nurturing, and attention. What I realized is that everything I do in my life involves embracing a practice. Discipline is defined as "training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior." I think the best example of this is my yoga. Yes, it is a routine, but it is by no means agonizing. (Well...okay, there are some crazy poses that are a little over the top!) My yoga practice brings me joy and I feel more centered. In the same way, building a business and a regular marketing routine is about a practice. It requires discipline, but this in no way detracts from being creative or enjoying today, right now, in this moment. Marketing is about building stronger relationships. It takes a continuous effort to relate to customers, vendors, referral sources, and leads. Invest in your business through an ongoing commitment to promoting it with both enthusiasm and creativity. Successful Marketing Requires Discipline For marketing to succeed, it is crucial to take the approach of a disciplined practice. And, the more time you invest in each activity, the more you will prosper at all levels of your business. Ultimately, I realize that the author of the article was correct. But, I believe it requires a combined approach of the grasshopper AND the ant. Have discipline and build relationships, like the ant. But, also be sure to take time for relaxation and activities you enjoy, like the grasshopper. Work in a business that is fulfilling to you. And that is the biggest key. Discipline does not make you stodgy if you are investing your time in an endeavor that you feel passionate toward. Success is an ongoing journey. Each time you return to your disciplined practice, whatever it is, you prosper from the moment-to-moment experience of doing it. As time goes on, your discipline pays off. So, take time to examine your practice of marketing. Is it a disciplined approach? Is it a practice you follow rigorously? Begin to move forward purposefully with an intention to expand your business and invest in your marketing activities every day. By committing to consistent and persistent marketing efforts, you WILL get amazing results. Wendy Maynard, your friendly marketing maven, is the owner of Kinesis. Kinesis specializes in marketing, graphic and website design, and business writing. Visit http://www.kinesisinc.com/resources/articles.html for more articles and free marketing wisdom. You can visit her marketing blog, Kinetic Ideas at: http://www.wendy.kinesisinc.com Want to harness the power of kinetic marketing? Sign up for Kinesis Quickies, a free bi-monthly marketing e-newsletter: http://www.news.kinesisinc.com
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The idea of disruptive technologies comes from Clayton Christensen's 1997 book, The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. A disruptive technology is a method, procedure, skill, device, or material that redefines the competitive standards. Note that the technology doesn't have to be a physical item and that it often forces us to re-examine the way we work.
InfoWorld's list of disruptive technologies for 2003 included open source, self-service CRM, digital identity, and my personal favorite, Weblogs. How can a simple, Web-based journal be disruptive?
For starters, it's worth describing what a Weblog is. Basically, a Weblog or "blog" is a personally created, online, time-stamped web page that includes the thoughts, ideas, and comments of the "blogger." The musings are usually brief, but they are published frequently and consistently. People can subscribe to receive the blog updates via e-mail. Often, the blogger is an expert on the subject he/she is discussing.
At first glance, it doesn't appear that blogs would be at all disruptive. So why all the hype? If we look closely at the structure and intent of blogs as a communications tool, we can see some powerful ideas at work.
Blogs are a direct, one-to-many vehicle for communicating ideas. They expand an individual's ability to communicate. They are fresh and timely. The blogger, in order to maintain interest, must communicate often. Blogs enable a single person to share ideas, insights, and useful knowledge with an audience. Thanks to the Web, the audience can be a global one.
Whenever a new tool or process-such as e-mail- expands communications, the effects are far-reaching and dramatic. Even though blogs have been around for 3-4 years, they could be the next big thing.
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Two important characteristics of blogs are that they are written by a person who is knowledgeable and passionate about the topic, and that they are written in a "real voice." This is a cosmic shift from the marketing and public relations materials that are the staple of business communications.
Often, when information goes through a formal marketing or PR process, the end result is an attractive, expensive, stale, diluted document written in corporate speak. This result is generally due to the processes that evolved to accommodate the costs and standards of print technology, rather than to the incompetence or malevolence of corporate communicators. The edge, the authenticity, and the voice of the professional speaking to his fellow professionals is lost.
Blogs offer the human voice that can be loud, controversial, and even wacky. But the realness of the blog inspires trust and piques people's curiosity. A blog can create a community and a dynamic discussion.
If you are a product manager working in the chemical products industry, chances are that you would rather hear about the real experiences of other product managers in your industry than read a glossy marketing piece put out by the marcom department. Blogs fit this communications requirement perfectly.
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There are a host of tools on the Internet that make blogging a snap! Blogs empower a single person to capitalize on the reach and ubiquity of the Web. And they don't require the investment or recurring costs of print technologies.
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Blogs empower the knowledgeable people within a company to share their insights, know-how, and expertise. The value to a corporation is that this knowledge can be organized, distributed, and leveraged to increase the value of different product and service offerings to the customer.
If a corporation is going to use a blog, however, it should understand that controlling the content of the discussion is difficult. If you want an authentic exchange, you have to be willing to accept the stone-throwing and critical comments that often occur in a blog. This requires extending trust and giving up some of the control a company would normally have when it publishes a press release or hosts its own online forum, for example. The upside is that people will listen to a real voice.
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* Make it easy for your employees to communicate directly in their own, human voice
* Respect the reader by making sure your e-newsletter provides value and that he/she wants to receive it.
E-newsletters geared towards educating a marketplace, rather than those focused on advertising or marketing, turn out to be particularly effective. E-newsletters offer an affordable, direct way for the experts in a company to communicate with an audience. This means that a product manager or an engineer can enhance the flow of information and make it more accessible to those who want it.
Think of your channel and the information needs of your partners. Your company has a wealth of information that would help them sell your products more effectively. There is much insight within your partner community that could be leveraged throughout the channel. And your technical experts and engineers have critical knowledge and understanding that everyone could utilize.
What's often missing is an easy way for the "know-how" keepers to capture their knowledge, organize it, and deliver it. The best e-newsletters are written in a real voice, not in corporate speak.
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References
Blogs As Disruptive Tech: How Weblogs Are Flying Under The Radar Of The Content Management Giants, By John Hiler, CEO, Webcrimson, http://www.webcrimson.com/ourstories/blogsdisruptivetech.Htm
Making Room For Disruptive And Emergent Technologies, By Hugh Blackmer, Science Librarian, Washington & Lee University, http://home.wlu.edu/~blackmerh/sabb/nitle2.html*
Blogs As Disruptive Innovation: What A Brave New World Blogging Is Building!, by Dr. James V. McGee, Professor, The Kellogg School Of Management,
http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2002/05/15.html
Weblogs At Harvard Law, Bookmark List For ABCD Weblogs Meeting, By Dave Winer,
http://Blogs.Law.Harvard.Edu/Stories/Storyreader$199
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