Going in Circles

In the absence of orienting landmarks, humans naturally walk in circles. That's the finding of German psychologist, Jan Souman, in a study conducted in 2009.

With a visual cue such as the sun as a reference point, humans can navigate reasonably well. But without landmarks, we simply walk in circles. It appears rather inexplicable, but even when we believe we are walking a straight path, without a point of orientation, we inevitably end up going in circles.

I think there's a parallel in business. When we engage in marketing initiatives, we believe we are moving forward. But, without a landmark, such as a clear business objective, we often go in circles.

Think about it. How often have you decided to create a brochure, run an ad or even put up a website without asking the question, "What objective are we going to meet by doing this?" We tend to make default choices without evaluating whether the choices are optimal. On the flipside, it is easy to dismiss spending money on marketing because "we don't see the value in it." If you haven't tied your initiatives to specific objectives, how can you measure their value?

A good practice is to start with your business objectives (e.g., generate X many online leads in the first quarter or establish thought leadership in the area of X over the next three years) and then brainstorm ideas for how best to achieve those objectives. Develop a strategy. Then select tools to implement that strategy that fit your time frame, culture and budget.

The value of this approach is that it provides an objective means by which to select and evaluate marketing initiatives. It frees you from doing the same old thing because it's what you've always done. It also protects you from doing the cool new thing because it's what everyone's doing. I'm not arguing against the tried and true or the new and sexy as long as your choice is tied to a business objective and measured by it.

Let your business objectives be your landmarks and your marketing initiatives will move you forward instead of keeping you going in circles.