How a simple change in mindset can set your brand up for greater success.
Sometime around the spring of 2010, I made my first trip to Tampa to interview with a few ad agencies in the area. Though the agencies I met with were both great, what I instantly fell in love with was Tampa itself. The gorgeous weather and teeming beaches were a far cry from the northeast, where I had spent all but one year of my life. But what became immediately apparent to me was that most people in Tampa were very comfortable wearing very little, and the bulk of them spent plenty of time at the gym to get this way.
As a single dude about to move to the area, it became clear that I should probably hit the weights if I wanted to attract any attention.
Initial Results
Shortly after moving I found a gym close to my apartment. As anyone who has worked out before can tell you, those first couple of workouts are the worst. You’re weak, then sore, then feel weaker because you’re sore. It’s a mess but by sticking with it, you start to see some gains. I know I did, which motivated me to keep going.
But eventually, I hit a wall. I wasn’t getting stronger or bigger, and this plateau frustrated me. I shouldn’t have been frustrated though, as it was readily apparent as to why I had hit said plateau: I was doing the same damn thing every work out! If you found your marketing has plateaued, maybe it’s time to switch your routine as well.
Breaking Through in Marketing (and Lifting)
When it comes to maximizing your gains while working out, you need to keep pushing. The human body is built to adapt, and if you never push it to a new limit, it will eventually settle on the one you’ve currently reached.
When it comes to marketing, the same principle can apply. If your messaging, medium, and strategy are always a mix of the same thing, you will generally end up with similar results. Now maybe these results are great and you’re happy with them. Kudos, but settling for the safe option is a surefire way to get lapped by the next best thing in your industry.
If you want to break through, you need to push your brand to its limit. This can mean anything from a bold piece of advertising to bombarding one particular geographic location with product messaging. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then the definition of sanity must be to do something, anything, different. It’s time to find some sanity!
A Breakthrough Success Story
Recently, a client of ours mentioned they were struggling to attract customers in one of their newer markets. Rather than hoping a comfortable spend on Facebook advertising would work (a safe, traditional route), we decided to blitz the hell out of the market with everything from Facebook ads (something the client was intimately familiar with) to TV spots (something the client was less familiar with).
This new strategy yielded results that were immediate and phenomenal. Sales were exceeding goals and the growth has been sustained to this day (a 3-4-month period). This breakthrough would not have been possible had we settled for what was comfortable. What once seemed a leap of faith from our client now appears to be a case study in having the guts to reach for the brass ring. They gave themselves the best possible chance at success because they were committed to succeeding. We’re immensely proud of them, and ourselves, for this.
Applying This Principle to Your Marketing
Results are not gained by those who take the easy road. There are a thousand and one workout clichés about pushing yourself, and that’s because pushing yourself is the only way to improve. Maybe we should adopt a few of these clichés ourselves:
• Pain is just weakness leaving your marketing!
• Bigger, faster, more strategic
• Use it or lose it…to the competition
• No commitment to success, no gain
• Feel the burn…of your rival if you play it safe
• It never gets easier – your brand just gets stronger
To apply this principle, take a step back from what you’ve been doing. Look at the marketing landscape around you. Have you tried Facebook ads and want something else? There are tons of platforms to try. Has your budget been spread thin over several platforms? Get rid of all but one and focus hard. Do you often shy away from riskier concepts because you’re afraid of looking out of place within your market? Try jumping in with both feet and trusting your agency pros.
No, we can’t guarantee that every idea is going to set the world on fire and become the next Dollar Shave Club. We can guarantee that if you aren’t pushing yourself, you’ll never be the next Dollar Shave Club. And much like muscles, nobody likes brands that are weak.