Everyone who’s ever had a communal refrigerator at their workplace knows the woes that go along with using it—stolen sandwiches, misplaced lunch bags, abandoned meals growing green fuzz, etc. The reality is that people using communal work fridges are always going to run into these problems no matter how many condemning lunch theft signs are hung up or “mandatory” clean out days are sanctioned. Yet every year businesses keep installing office fridges, never asking if there’s a better way, doomed to a treasure trove of smelly leftovers.
Marketing Architects realized that the idea of a communal refrigerator sounded good, but it just didn’t work very well in practice. Which is why we knew we needed to rethink the concept and replace it with something more effective. (FYI: We now offer all of our employees individual mini-fridges for their workspaces.)
While this specific scenario played out at our company, the idea of continuously revising an ill-fated concept isn’t strictly tied to workplace fridges. This is a vicious cycle that marketers fall into more regularly than they’d like to admit. It’s asking the tough questions like the ones below that help you determine if it’s truly time to replace the “communal work fridge.”
Is it time to stop optimizing your media channels?
When you’re optimizing to a point where you’re losing the opportunity to scale, it’s time to look for new media. Granular targeting can be effective…if you’re still able to reach large enough audiences. But it’s not worth it when you find yourself reducing the size of your targeted audience to such a small number that you’re forced to convert at an unrealistically high rate to hit your goals.
Is it time to bring outside experts into the conversation?
Sometimes it’s hard to think outside the box when you’ve been sitting in it forever. That’s why bringing experts from different departments in your company as well as outside experts into your marketing discussions can be a good idea.
At Marketing Architects, it’s not uncommon to see the Chief Technology Officer sitting in on a marketing strategy session. His opinion can even be more valuable than those whom are fully entrenched in the project. Why? He can help us to look at the project from a new angle, ultimately giving us an opportunity to address factors we would have never thought about.
Same goes with outside business partners. We work with a host of non-marketing experts, like world record-holding sky divers, champion athletes, etc. If you aren’t surrounding yourself with experts you can collaborate with and get breath-of-fresh-air outlooks from regarding your projects, you’re hindering your own success.
Is it time to let go?
You know that saying, “when you love something, let it go…”? You should take it to heart. Often, marketers (especially those whom were part of an original campaign) and business owners can’t let go when they really should—usually because they’re passionate about what they’ve created. This is the reason marketers won’t change media strategies that once worked or why entrepreneurs who won’t sell their creations are faced with more mature product issues like scaling and distribution. Make time to get in touch with the deeper feelings that are hindering change.
If your marketing campaign is staler than that forgotten sandwich in the office fridge, give Marketing Architects a call. With nearly 20 years of performance marketing experience in every industry, we can offer you a fresh perspective on how to get the most out of your big idea.
