Building our Systems – Marketers are Creative Builders

Building our Systems And, to be creative, we have to be “into” systems thinking & working hard, and regularly “out of” our comfort zone. “If solid goals are established, and the majority of time spent manipulating systems toward those goals, great results will materialize naturally.” and “Your task is to optimize one system after another, not careen through the day randomly taking care of whatever problems erupt. Your job is not to be a fire killer. Your job is to prevent fires.” Sam Carpenter, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less Our job as a marketer is to figure out the success systems that get results. Then, it’s to make them scale. Marketing isn’t throwing random stuff on your social media and expecting to get results. Marketing is about building a system that helps the business achieve its main goal. We can’t stay within our comfort zone. If we like TikTok, as a marketer, you can’t just do TikTok. We will never get anything done. And, as we do it, our comfort zone will change. It’s the good marketer’s job to figure out the steps to success. And, to figure out the smallest cost to perform those steps. Marketers build machines Machines that make magic happen. A machine that creates, builds, distributes, and amplifies our ideas and efforts. Every machine consists of repeatable patterns–the same steps taken over and over again. A machine is a sequence of repeatable steps. We need to figure out the necessary steps and remove the unnecessary ones. We need to build a way to see data about our work. Data helps us identify the right steps, and make improvements in each step. Small processes can be built up into big ones. Think of our steps as atomic. We can’t break them down into smaller steps. Then, we combine these smaller steps into larger processes. Each smaller step can be focused on. It can be improved by a split test. And, because a process can be mixed into many processes, one action can improve more than one system at a time. A process can be automated. Or not. Even though automation feels like the answer, it’s not. We should only automate investments when we already know what our system is, and if it works. Automation scales what already works. If you don’t know if it works, you will scale something that doesn’t work. Working systems are the thing that makes great things happen. The best tools, the greatest ads, will not work at the wrong place and time. Understand the system, build our system, and make sure it works. I do not believe in 1 campaign. I believe in the marketing system. P.s. Don’t let “but I’m not a..” keep you from achieving greatness. I know a lot of marketers that are like “I’m not a graphics designer” or “I don’t write well.” Well, if you have to get a graphics designer involved, get them involved in building templates. So, you can take the quick action you need to take. If you have to write the copy, start by building out detailed research. Build templates. Use them. Modify them based on experience. Create a system. Resources Work the System A book on Amazon that explains the methodology of building processes and then managing those processes to get results Built to Sell – A book on Amazon about the things you have to do in a small business (even if you’re a marketer in a big department) to make the business run without you Do things that don’t scale – An article from Paul Graham Ready to supercharge your go-to-market strategy? Discover our consulting, training, and software for go-to-market growth businesses. Click below to transform your approach and drive growth today! Discover here

The 5 Steps to Define the Job to be done

What is the job to be done? Remember the quote I left you with at the end of my last blog post? Here is a quick reminder: “People don’t want to buy quarter inch drill. They want a quarter inch hole!” Theodore Levitt What does it mean? It means that if we want to know what the job to be done is, we need to define our customer’s needs. It means that we as marketers need to define our innovation based on the needs of our perfect buyer. And, we need to communicate to our perfect buyer not only what the emotional, financial, strategic, etc. benefits of our innovation are to them; we also need to communicate to them how the benefits of changing the status quo outweigh any associated costs. According to Clayton Christensen, the core tenets defining innovation, based on the perfect buyer’s needs, are the following: Breakthrough innovation happens where there is a clearly identified need or gap. Your innovation improves the job “experience.” It’s an emotional, experiential thing. Put another way, you don’t “do” the job, even if you do it for them. You don’t prepare food for them, you improve the eating experience. All jobs are experiential. Define the job-to-be-done (JTBD), not the product to solve the problem. Lots of entrepreneurs and innovators focus too much on the solution. He calls this a product-centric company. Product-centric companies don’t produce true innovation. Why? Because their work doesn’t align with a job-to be-done (JTBD). An innovation is only an innovation if a buyer can make progress with it. Define how your innovation makes progress for the perfect buyer emotional, socially, financially, and functionality. You don’t have to define the improvement as 100%. You don’t have to totally fix it. You need to give the experience of substantial progress. You need to make it worth the hassle of changing the status quo. You have to make your way of making progress the obvious, simple choice. But, you can’t expect customers to tell you what that is. They don’t know, or they would have solved it. Instead, you have to listen and understand what progress they are trying to make. Essentially, you have to figure out the job to be done. And, then give them a solution that helps them make it. The innovation and education has to come from you. For the job, you must be able to define and measure the % of concrete improvement of the job function. If you don’t know the specific steps of the job, and you can’t quantify how you make that process better, then you’ve not yet defined the job to be done correctly. Innovation quantifies how much improvement it makes on the job to be done. To be the obvious choice, your innovation has to be at least 2x as good for a person to switch. Why? Because of anxiety or inertia and gimmickry. How are you 2X better? I think that it often needs to be higher than this actually. 5x? 10x? Why is the defining the job to be done so tricky? Defining the job to be done is tricky because for most businesses it is an afterthought. If you define your innovation (your product or service) before you define what the job to be done is, then you will struggle to connect that innovation to your perfect buyer in a meaningful way. Remember from my previous blog post, it all starts with a struggle. Your customers struggle with a need that is going unfulfilled. So, it is only an innovation if it meets the needs of our customers to do a job they’re struggling to do. Our innovation must be the reason someone hires us to do the job to be done, to produce a beneficial outcome for our perfect buyer. Our innovation must give them an advantage. Why else would they deviate from the status quo? But, the reality is that few businesses are blank slate businesses that start 100% customer-focused. We usually have some idea, and go execute that idea. Then, we try to figure out how to sell it. That’s OK, as long as we don’t lose sight of the job to be done. Our job as marketers is to take this raw “innovation” and transform it into digestible, manageable bites. Meaning, we need to communicate to our perfect buyers why our innovation gets their job done. Our perfect buyers need to understand why it’s valuable to them and how it helps them make progress. When we connect the dots between the customers, their needs, and our innovation, we make life better for everyone involved. So, we have to be very customer and job-centric. We must define our perfect buyer’s job journey. Layout what the steps involved are. And, by doing so, we can better define how our innovation provides a real improvement to the perfect buyer’s status quo. The five steps to define the job to be done  Step 1: Define who is your job customer. Before you can define your customer’s needs, you need to define who your job customer is. Yes, you are adding another level of understanding of our perfect buyer. But, now you are defining what they’re struggling with—the job to be done. The progress they’re trying to make. And, how you can help them get there. Chris Christensen calls this the ‘job executor’. And according to Tony Ulwick in the ‘Jobs to be done Framework’, all customers boil down to three main, role-based categories. These categories are based on functions done with the innovation. Each of these functions has a weight in the decision-making process related to the job to be done. Each of these roles has unique jobs associated with it which have to be performed in service to the greater progress. Btw, these categories work for both B2B and B2C situations. Generally, in B2C, one person can do every function while in B2B, these functions are distributed across many people. The three functions are ‘the job

The Value of Innovation

What is innovation? And, what is the value of innovation? These are the questions that I want to take a closer look at for this blog post. Off the top of my head, I would add some other questions, closely related to the ones stated above: How do experience and innovation interact? How do emotions affect the value of innovation? And, why am I focusing on innovation rather than straightforward selling? Because the focus, your focus as a marketeer should be on solving, not selling. Because solving sells. What are we solving? We are solving our customers’ problems. We are responding to their needs. We address their concerns. We provide them a solution to their problems. And that brings us back to the value of innovation. What is innovation? I cannot tell you how often I have heard the phrase ‘ideas are meaningless’. And this statement is correct. An idea is just that, a daydream. A thought without application, without realization. An idea is unfinished. What we really want, is an innovation. An innovation is applying an idea to someone’s status quo to make a beneficial change. An innovation helps someone accomplish something that they want to accomplish in their lives or their business. When we think of the word innovation, most people think it means some sort of technology. It can be, yes, but it does not have to be. An innovation can also be a system, a process, an approach, a way of doing things. It is not necessarily tied to tech, though we might often feel like it is. But, honestly, innovation is a synonym for ‘new’. An innovation is solving. It is worth repeating: Innovation = a beneficial chance to someone’s status quo. If it doesn’t help them change their status quo, and change it for the better, then it is not an innovation. And hence, no value in innovation. The difference between innovation and gimmick A gimmick is something curiosity-producing that does not provide a change in the status quo. Most times, what a business calls an innovation is actually a gimmick. Gimmicks are meant to sound like a silver bullet. And to be honest, you sometimes need to build these into your marketing. Innovations vs. Gimmicks But, gimmicks are not innovation. They don’t offer the same value as innovation. Yes, they are new. Yes, they are unique. But, they do not beneficially change the status quo of your perfect buyer. Hence, no value in innovation. And you need to be honest about that. A good example is laundry detergent. It is often advertised with ‘new formula’ or ‘blue crystals’. But, these changes are often done for other reasons such as cost reduction. But, by not only calling them out, by actively marketing these changes, but we are also implying that they are better than what was there before. Not just different, but better, when they are not. They are a gimmick. Now, an innovation can be a gimmick as well, but a gimmick that beneficially changes the status quo. And that is a good definition of the value of innovation to use. There is the value of innovation when there are beneficial changes to the status quo. Innovations can be new, unique, and curiosity-producing. But, and it is a big but, it also changes the way the perfect buyer does something. Or experiences something. It helps them make progress on their goals. And honestly, talking from a marketing perspective, the best innovations are gimmicks. They produce curiosity. And, this curiosity causes the perfect buyer to dig in deeper, and build knowledge about the solution you offer. That is important because if a person does not understand an innovation, cannot see how this innovation solves their problem, cannot see how this innovation applies to them, then it has no value of innovation to them. The value of innovation Value is a measure of someone’s understood benefit of something. The value of anything you do is in its capability to help people make progress on their problems. You are helping your perfect buyer find a solution. You are solving. You are innovating. That is the value of innovation. The innovation you provide can be mundane. Remember, innovation just has to be something ‘new’. The innovation you provide can be something as simple as someone not doing it themselves. In that case, the value of innovation is that you don’t have to do it at all. Also, innovation can be something new that does not even change the physical properties of something. The innovation can be selling an emotional benefit. Here, the value of innovation would derive from the emotional relief offered. Meaning that you are helping your customer accomplish an emotional objective. This harks back to the idea of how human desires affect marketing decisions. How do we determine the value of innovation? There are four parts to determine the value of innovation: realization, agency, timing, and transfer costs. It all starts with a struggle. People must have a struggle, and this struggle creates a desire to make a change to their status quo. A change for the better. This is the first part of determining the value of an innovation: a realization that ‘this is hard’, or ‘I am not getting what I need or want’. People generally don’t make changes to their status quo from a place of ‘this is great’. They only do so from a place of ‘this could be improved’. Your customer has identified a problem, and now they seek help solving this problem. This agency is important. Because the second part to determine the value of innovation is that a person must want it. An innovation is not valuable if a person does not want it. Think about it. A person must have some desire to make a change in their situation. You cannot sell seeds to a person sitting on a stack of seeds. You cannot sell a big meal to a person that just had a big meal.

How to Better Manage and Motivate Your Virtual Team

In 2015, more companies than ever before are offering flexible workspace alternatives for their employees, such as hoteling stations and the option of telecommuting. In fact, the 2014 National Study of Employers, conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, found that roughly 67 percent of the U.S. workforce reports telecommuting at some point each week. Telecommuting has been proven to offer both emotional benefits for employees, like flexible hours and improved work-life balance, and real operational benefits for companies, including improved productivity, less employee turnover, and reduced overhead costs. When engaging in telecommuting best practices, offsite teams are able to collaborate efficiently and effectively, remain focused on projects and daily tasks, and stay organized. However, many employers are still skeptical of the benefits of telecommuting and fear that offsite employees will result in an increased cost of sale instead of an overall reduction in expenses. In an article on Forbes.com, Anne McGurty, president and founder of Strategize and Organize, says “There’s much to be desired about working from home, but even if you have managers and coworkers you’re accountable to, there are still temptations that can easily sap your productivity and motivation.” So, how do you ensure that your offsite operations are running like a well-oiled machine?   Structure Work Processes for Remote Workers Different teams often require different working parameters, and your offsite team is no exception. Special processes and practices should be put into place to ensure that remote employees are given the tools and structure they need to be successful. Measure outcomes, not hours. Because remote workers can often be more productive than their office-based counterparts, hours are generally not the most accurate form of evaluating performance. A common best practice for assessing offsite employees is executing performance reviews driven by project results instead of conducting focal reviews. Keep employees in the know. Be sure to keep virtual teams informed of all company news and organizational changes. Special training for managers. Managing offsite employees requires different skills than overseeing an in-office team. Invest in training management-level employees in the skills and best practices for supervising remote teams. Allow for full remote access.  Ensure that remote workers have full access to all in-office work systems, including databases, intranet systems, and email. Establish regular check-in times. Communicating with your reports regularly, even without an agenda, is extremely important for satellite teams and helps to establish routine and structure. Acknowledge holidays. Schedule projects to allow breaks for celebrating holidays.   Build a Virtual Team Culture Lack of team cohesiveness is a common concern when managing remote teams as it often leads to serious problems—loss of focus, employee rivalries, and increased stress levels and burn-out—that can poison an offsite team’s success. To overcome this challenge, it is vital that managers create a virtual team culture. Allow casual, friendly, non-work conversation to occur. Employees often need the support of meeting with colleagues to commiserate. While this may sound counter-intuitive, in an article from ComputerWeekly.com, Sarah-Anne Bray, of Acer Technology, defends this practice by stating that, “You could call it gossip, but there needs to be easy contact at an idle conversational level with colleagues. This is possible despite infrequent face-to-face meetings and vast distances between individuals.” Promote givers, discourage takers. “Takers” are employees who are compulsively self-promotional and are routinely trying to score points against co-workers, and these folks can kill your team culture. Instead, encourage and reward “givers”, or individuals who contribute to the team without ulterior motives, to help foster a cohesive and supportive team culture that will keep employees happy and motivated. Do not allow arguments to happen over email. Email quarrels are not effective for resolving issues and reinforce poor communication practices. Instead, encourage your team to call one another and work out problems or miscommunications. Assign team mentors. These individuals will serve as secondary managers and confidants in charge of guiding the team through cultural, technical, working relationship issues. Trust your team. If you don’t trust your reports to deliver good work on time, then you don’t have the right employees.   Invest in Technology There is a veritable smorgasbord of new software options available to help offsite managers and employees optimize their virtual workspaces. In order to fully leverage this new technology, be sure you are choosing technology that empowers collaboration, such as instant messaging, web conferencing, and file sharing. Products that create virtual meeting space make it easy for managers and staff to work collaboratively and get projects completed on schedule, and converged voice and data products give home offices communication capabilities of more conventional work settings. Ready to supercharge your go-to-market strategy? Discover our consulting, training, and software for go-to-market growth businesses. Click below to transform your approach and drive growth today! Discover here

5 Valuable Lessons Learned from Outsourcing

We have compiled five valuable lessons on outsourcing. Lessons – both good and bad – from companies and individuals who have outsourced. Be Selective in Your Outsourcing While it is obvious that your company does not have to outsource everything (or keep everything in-house), you should take some time to consider what makes the most sense to outsource. Entrepreneur magazine advises that you think about your business’s core competencies. What does your company do well? And be specific. Not all marketing services need outsourcing, for example. You could hire a contractor to maintain your company blog. While monitoring social media accounts in-house. Additionally, automation can be just as effective as outsourcing, and you can keep that service in-house. Invoices, direct marketing, and social media marketing are all things that can be automated. Do Your Research Do not let the cost be the deciding factor here. A cheap vendor may produce subpar work. If you end up having to fix it, what you saved in money you will lose in time and frustration. When selecting a vendor, ask around for referrals and request examples of past projects. Elance and other online marketplaces are good locations to start – you can easily see reviews on these sites. It is also a good idea to start small. See how a company handles one project before you make them your long-term vendor. “See the early stages as a honeymoon period since over time a great experience can turn into something quite different,” advises business writer Jeff Haden in an article for CBS News. “Turn over a portion of the function and let your outsourcing partner earn a greater share.” Make Sure Cultures Are Compatible Some vendors might do excellent work, but they just might not work well for your company. Per Forbes (ellipses mine): Labor rates are lower in some countries, but culture and language match are the real keys to productivity … The outsourcing team will always try to adapt to your situation, but success depends on their cultural work ethics, time constraints, social status, language quirks, and an overall attitude. Adapting to culture goes both ways, and training is the key. Recognize and embrace differences. If your outsourcing involves offshoring, make sure you can work around language and time zone barriers. This compatibility refers to work culture as well. Freelancers are often drawn to freelancing because they can set their own schedules. Be clear on when you need them to be available, so you don’t have any lapses in communication. Be Clear about What You Want Contractors hate hearing, “Oh, just do what you want; you know best!” It signifies to them that you do not know what you want, which is never a good position to be in. Make sure you give clear, concrete instructions for each project or service. Written documentation is ideal, so vendors can refer to it throughout the process. Similarly, you have to understand the work you are asking your vendors to complete. It is the only way to effectively manage the projects and ensure the result is what you need. Check the Quality While you should do your due diligence and hire reputable, reliable vendors, you also need to have an in-house process to ensure they’re doing quality work, before the work is ready. For example, have in-house staff review any written work from the vendor before it gets published. You should also have regular follow-up meetings to make sure there are no big surprises when the project or other deliverable comes due. But, there are things that you should never outsource. Check our article on things that you should not outsouce here. Ready to supercharge your go-to-market strategy? Discover our consulting, training, and software for go-to-market growth businesses. Click below to transform your approach and drive growth today! Discover here