How effective are quick fixes in marketing?

Everyone loves a quick fix. Marketers, in particular, love making the promise of a quick fix. Consequently, we are being told nearly everywhere we turn that we can “Get rich quick by following one simple rule,” or “Land the job of our dreams by doing one important thing during our interview.”

Hopefully, most of us don’t fall prey to this kind of hucksterism in our personal lives (well, not too often, anyway…).

The same type of hype can be found in B2B marketing, as well. “Double your website traffic by taking these three easy steps,” or “Crush your sales goals by asking customers this one question.” And so on…and so on…

Can quick fixes work?

I believe there are two kinds of quick fixes: 1) the ones that are designed for no other reason than to take advantage of our desire for easy wins, and 2) the ones that really do yield a positive outcome. If I were to label them, I’d call the two “scams” versus “tweaks.” Let’s ignore the scams.

Tweaks, on the other hand, can absolutely be productive. For example, online marketing is a rich source of potential tweaks, where one can generate measurable improvement by taking steps such as:

• A/B testing, which can guide us toward creative options that generate more clicks.
• Setting conversion goals and letting Google or Facebook do the audience targeting work on our behalf.
• Improving search results through link building, improving site speed, or adding structured data to our website.

The list goes on and if you’re not taking advantage of these kinds of fixes, you are missing opportunities. But what matters most is how sustainable the tweaks are, and having the ability to understand whether the tweaks are solving a problem or merely shifting the problem around. Let me explain.

Is your “medicine” killing the patient?

Marketers must not approach their work as an array of independent actions. Instead, they must see their work as a complex system of multidirectional interactions occurring in environments that marketers don’t control.

In a way, deploying marketing tweaks can be seen as similar to how a physician might treat an illness. Health professionals regularly prescribe medications to treat symptoms of illness even when the underlying causes of the symptoms are not understood fully…or even if the medications themselves might be known to potentially create new problems. The physician strives to find a treatment plan that will ultimately lead to patient health. But, because each patient’s needs and conditions are unique, the results are not always as planned. What works brilliantly for one patient may not work at all for the next.

So, for example, let’s say you perform an A/B copy test to find out which one of two headlines yields superior conversion rates. While your test will eventually reveal a “winner,” what the test won’t tell you is whether, in fact, both headlines are way off brand.

Likewise, while your “winner” may indeed be creating new leads and new business, it may also unintentionally be alienating existing customers. And don’t forget that your test can’t tell you whether the adjustments your competitor is making today will turn your winner into a loser. The point here is that tweaks are best equipped for addressing very localized issues – or symptoms, if you will.

If you applied this idea to a game – say, golf – you might think of it as working with a pro on your long game without realizing that the coaching is having the unintended consequence of weakening your short game. Was there a “fix’? Yes, at the tee. But are you better off in a larger sense? No.

Watch the symptoms – but obsess on the patient

I’m all for making tweaks. Doing so can be a great way to improve continuously. But, in order to see systemic, sustainable and meaningful improvement, you must align all of your tweaks with a core strategic framework, and you must continuously be on the lookout for unintended consequences.

It is important to constantly remind oneself when making tweaks that we are simply adjusting our tactics. And tactics matter only when they are carefully managed:

1. In support of a clearly articulated overarching strategic purpose, and
2. In full recognition that our tactics are being unleashed within a constantly changing competitive environment.

I enjoy the saying that even “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” But always keep in mind those steps must be taken in the right direction in order to reach your desired destination.

How can I help you?

If you’d like to learn more about how to improve your organization’s marketing, Iceberg can help. See my page on coaching or my article on how to get the most from your creative agency. Or feel free to contact me directly. I’m always happy to help.