Here’s a true story to shine a light on what can happen to top marketers in the face of failure. Details have been changed to protect the innocent.
The Alpha Company has recently brought in a new marketing department head to drive revenues. Three months ago, company leaders sought outside counsel to reduce the marketing budget by 25% to compensate for downward trending revenues. Advisors said the lower budget could work if several marginal programs were cut and all remaining dollars were focused on the most important market segments.
Upon arrival, the marketing leader is confronted with entrenched programs and people resistant to change. To new eyes, it is hard to spot the sacred cows because the organization does a poor job of tracking results. Another department head served as interim marketing leader and is not at all happy to lose the responsibility. Rather than help the new person sort things out, he makes it his job to alert the CEO about missteps the new marketing leader makes. This, in turn, makes the new marketing leader less willing to take risks. As a result, the 25% cut in the marketing budget is across the board, and the programs that can most likely improve financial results are rendered 25% less effective. Revenues decline fast. New marketing leader is under tremendous pressure just two months into her new job.
Everyone who has been in marketing for any length of time has faced failure. Success and failure are close companions. Smart companies realize this and encourage a certain amount of marketing experimentation. Test markets are just that — a way to try bold new things. The best marketing people are aggressive by nature and willing to stand up to corporate pressures that would eliminate risk and good ideas.
What marks exceptional people and organizations is not whether they can avoid failure, but how they tackle it when it comes. Like our new marketing leader, you may also face a really tough situation. Here are some ways to get back on track from someone who has faced the possibility of serious failure a few times.
Pick Yourself Up. Our tendency is to focus on consequences at the point we are confronting truly difficult circumstances. Focus on what you would do if fear wasn’t standing in your way. Fear clouds judgment and suppresses creativity required to solve the problem.
Change Course. The one great thing about failure is that it has a stopping point. No organization will sit still for long when confronted with big problems. In an odd sort of way, failure opens doors that success seldom does. Management is more willing to change course and try new things. People who are obstructionist tend to stand out more and are easier to sweep aside. At the failure point, there is more risk in maintaining the status quo than in doing bold things. This is when true leaders emerge.
Assess Available Resources. The new marketing leader in our story has a big challenge to drive revenue with a small remaining budget. Her first order of business is to assess what is left and to reprioritize everything. This should then be compared with a strong plan of action to change the outcome by having the courage to make tough calls.
Let Truth Be the Guide. Marketing failures are often due to inadequate budgets in the first place. In today’s cost-saving business environment, marketing department budgets are easy trim targets. When goals are being met, it is easy to take a don’t-rock-the-boat attitude when fighting for resources. At point of failure though, an honest assessment of required resources is vital to reverse the failure. In our story, new marketing leader has little to risk and much to gain by demanding more money.
Involve the Whole Team. At failure point, many people tend to hide the facts from the very people who can change the outcomes. Resist the tendency. This is the time to gather the team and lay truth on the line. Rather than increase fear, this move actually disperses anxiety. Everyone knows things are not going as planned and shares concern about consequences. Give your team members a chance to shape the solution with their own great ideas. Most important of all, believe in yourself and stick to the job until the problem is solved.
Bill Fritsch is president of Hydrogen Advertising, an award-winning, Seattle-based advertising agency emphasizing superb ideas efficiently produced. Reach him at 206-389-9500, ext. 224 or email bill@hydrogenadvertising.com. For more information, visit http://www.hydrogenadvertising.com.