Monthly Archives: September 2012

September 11, 2012 · 10:26 am

Strategic Planning From Mike

Today we take our business cue from the noted executive Michael Gerard Tyson.

Mike Tyson at SXSW 2011

Mike Tyson at SXSW 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You might know him as Mike or as “The Baddest Man On The Planet.”  Hopefully you were well aware of him before the “Hangover” roles (which didn’t make a lot of sense unless you were aware of him!).  One of Mike’s quotes is something every businessperson should keep in the back of their mind:

Everyone has a strategy until I punch them in the face

There are variations of that quote out there but you get the gist.  It’s about the best summary of strategic planning I know.  While long-range planning is a good idea, those plans need to be etched in sand and not in cement.  Being agile and working with the flow is critical in an environment where it seems as if most of what we thought we knew becomes untrue.  Like a boxer, a business’ ability to take the punches, move away from the trouble, protect itself and recover is the manta.  Stick and move, indeed.

There’s something to be said for perseverance.  On the other hand, when a plan of attack isn’t working and you’re catching way too many punches, one of three things is going to happen:

  1. You’re going to get knocked out
  2. Someone is going to stop the fight
  3. You’re going to change your strategy

Doing the third thing early on while maintaining the same goal (knock out the competition and win) is really the only route (see companies under buggy whips, internet 1.0, and airlines) to success.  Many of us ignore the surprising things that happen, writing them off to “lucky punches” and only focus on what we expect.  Big mistake.

Getting hit in the face can knock you out or it can wake you up.  Your choice.

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September 10, 2012 · 10:52 am

Unoptimized Optimization

Logo of Adobe Systems Incorporated

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The folks at Adobe

came out with their annual Digital Marketing Optimization survey and I finally got around to spending a little time going through it.  The results are kind of troubling to me.  You can get a copy of it here (registration required) to see for yourself.  The gist of the survey is to ascertain how well marketers are using the data available to them to optimize what they’re doing in digital media.  For example, one thing I usually tell my clients is low-hanging fruit is to optimize content and marketing around on-site search – what your users are typing into the “search” box on your site.  It’s a great indicator of content that’s either missing or not presented in a way that’s obvious to your user. 34% of site visitors use site search first (according to the study) yet fewer than 50% of respondents are optimiz­ing on-site search results.  Hmm…

Here are a few other findings that make me want to scratch my head:

  • More than 50% cited testing was not a company priority
  • Marketers spend $92 per user to acquire traffic yet only $1 to optimize it.
  • Landing pages (41%), home pages (33%), and paid search (29%) are the top areas in which marketers are conducting online tests. 38% are not conducting any.
  • Social sharing was only chosen by 9% of respondents for optimization even though there is other research that shows how social sharing can play a big role in conversions (especially for online commerce).

If I spent $92 to get you to my site I’d do everything I could to get you to stay!  Here are the study’s top 5 recommendations:

  • Prioritize optimization across your organization as a strategic process
  • Use a data-driven approach to optimization
  • Optimize conversion with video
  • Optimize social engagement
  • Optimize for all mobile channels

All of which is pretty good advice (but not always so easy to do!).  In other words, commit to refining digital as you might your “real” product – ascertain what’s working based on data and commit to making it better every day.

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September 7, 2012 · 8:14 am

Doing Something

I had breakfast the other morning

Eggs

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

with a friend I’ve known and worked with for 20 years.  No, breakfast isn’t out Foodie Friday theme but something he said while we ate is.  We were talking about our work – what he does, what I do – and he was discussing a rather large deal of which he had been a part.  After describing his role he summed it up by saying “I didn’t really DO anything – I just helped things along and brought people together.”  My immediate reaction was that he sounded like a chef.

Chefs don’t create the raw materials of their work.  They don’t grow vegetables, catch fish, raise cattle, or mill flour.  Many of them don’t even cook any more once they’re figured out the recipes to be used in their kitchens.  They hire cooks to do that and after teaching them how they want things done they step back.  Once in a while they taste what’s leaving the kitchen for quality control but mostly they do what my friend did – they make connections.

I’ve been a facilitator for a few brainstorming sessions.  We’re always supposed to be content-neutral.  The idea is to help the group reach their goals without imposing our own positions on the ideas being discussed.  We help with structure and process but the participants do the heavy lifting.  It’s important that the group knows that the facilitator is in charge, but that authority is never supposed to be the focus of anything.  Frankly, it takes a bit of effort to get one’s ego out of the room, especially when you believe you can solve the problem.

The point is that my friend behaved like a great facilitator.  He brought people together around an idea and helped them bring that idea to fruition.  I think that’s doing quite a lot, just as it’s the big-name chefs who get the credit for the food, not the line cooks.  It’s what great managing is all about and it’s absolutely doing something!

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