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A Sense of Urgency is a Marketing Imperative

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General George Patton said, “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite time in the future.” The same thinking holds true in marketing. Too many businesses tend to over analyze, over plan, delay or simply wait until it’s too late when it comes to their marketing initiatives. Today, marketing is fought on many fronts and the landscape can quickly change. Now more than ever, your business can’t afford to be indecisive. And indecision comes in many forms. Thus, a sense of urgency is a marketing imperative.

Execution is Everything

Some companies may struggle to find a consensus with a new ad campaign. They search for the perfect concept. They fixate over design, color, brand and more while valuable time ticks away.
In today’s marketplace, companies should be in a “test” mentality with regard to their marketing. Whether you’re using the web, outdoor, direct mail, e-mail, print or broadcast, it’s critical to test and measure a variety of messages and media options. Media providers will always tell you to invest in more lengthy buys to give each the best chance of success. This is unnecessary if you’re testing media options. Test apples to apples. Stick with what works. Drop what doesn’t. Just do it sooner rather than later.

Many smaller companies become complacent with their marketing efforts which seem to keep going to the bottom of the priority pile. If this is the case, a fresh marketing campaign can re-energize not just your bottom line, but your workforce as well. No doubt, the greatest enemy of business is complacency. For this reason, your external advertising campaigns should be turned inward and communicated to your employees. After all, they will have to deliver on the promise of your product or service. A brand is not a mark or a logo. A brand is how people are seen as delivering on a promise. Fighting inertia and rallying your workforce around your brand’s mission requires leadership. So please stop making lists and start getting it done. Pretty pictures and a catchy tag line are not enough. Your message must to be delivered boldly and often.

In marketing, execution is everything. Swift and urgent execution is imperative. And just like the military, you may have to throw out your plan and learn to improvise. After all, a good message swiftly delivered today is better than a perfect message delivered at some indefinite time in the future.