Speed to Value Ratios (for Marketers)
Ever get injured because you were trying to do something too fast?
Yesterday, I almost cut the top of my finger off cleaning a mandolin blade. It came out of the dishwasher with 2 bits of onion still stuck to it, and I thought I could just quickly scratch them off with my nail.
Cut to spending the rest of the day with my hand elevated, getting multiple bandaging treatments, and me NOT doing what was planned.
And while👆 that 👆 might not happen regularly from a personal perspective, it made me wonder how often we make "painful" marketing decisions because we're trying to do something "fast and easy". So, that's what we'll be exploring today, specifically focused on areas where we are encouraged to "go fast".
This article today is supported by ChatGPT as an assistant in determining the most time-sensitive marketing activities...which may or may NOT benefit from actually being TOO time-sensitive 💡
Seasonal Campaigns & Holidays
Oh, so basic. Of course, we'll look silly as a brand if we post a Father's Day post that's NOT on Father's Day, right?!
Or will we?
Now sure, if you're a retailer with sales that are tied to events like Back Friday and the such, then I get it. But also, EVERYONE else is doing the same thing.
So does that time-sensitivity really matter in terms of driving VALUE to your business? Especially if the event has NOTHING TO DO with your business?
Let's pretend you're a B2B Tech Company and Black Friday is drawing near. You can do one of two things:
Join EVERYONE ELSE in promoting a discount on Friday, or
You can keep charging your full price.
Now, who is buying things on Black Friday?
People who are looking for discounts for things they could do without.
NOT people who need a real solution for something.
If your business is all about creating meaningful solutions for people...
Even IF your discount does encourage someone to buy, it's not the RIGHT people. Which means, they likely will spend the minimum amount and then move on. No opportunities to upgrade or grow. No opportunities to become brand advocates.
And now you've decreased your profit margin.
But if you opt-out of these types of events, you allow your brand to maintain it's value. I mean, how often do you see Lego go on sale? Or Versace? Or Mercedes? Or day passes to Disney? Or Apple products?
And if you DO decide to discount your products, you do it in a way that matches your brand. Like, if you're an Enablement Company and it's World Enablement Day, then you discount your prices for the one day, because it MATCHES your business. Or, you could, like me, offer 2 free tickets to a networking event for community youth who are learning to build their networks.
Personally, I'm not a fan of discounting prices just because everyone else is doing it. I mean, all our parents asked the question about jumping off the bridge, right?! Yet, we still do it in marketing.
Less Discounting = More Value
Trending Topics & Viral Content
That's the goal nowadays, right? To go viral? But here's the challenge with that...you're always using someone ELSE'S content.
While jumping on trending hashtags or viral challenges can boost your visibility, it's important to understand what people are seeing.
YOU COPYING SOMEONE ELSE.
I mean, not the BEST way to become a thought-leader💡
Now, we can also talk about "newsjacking" here, which is all about leveraging current news to create timely content, speed can get you into the conversation, but if you don't have anything relevant to add, it won't KEEP you there.
And sure, it's easy to set up Google Alerts to track ALL the things, but MORE things in a shorter amount of time only leads to one place: OVERWHELM.
And we don't know WHICH to choose. So maybe we choose randomly, or maybe we choose nothing at all. Neither of those actions are particularly aligned with your brand.
Now, I'm not saying to totally ignore industry content. What I AM saying is that there is value in having a strategy in place as to WHAT content you will share AND WHY. And the WHY part is particularly important 💖 Because that's how people start to get to know you as a brand. And can start to build a brand relationship with you.
Product Launches & Announcements
Ok, so I've actually been a part of a Marketing Team that launched a new product in 8 DAYS and I'll tell you the value that had to the business...
NONE.
Now sure, it's cool to launch a product that fast. But the market doesn't care.
The market cares about it's problems. And finding solutions to them.
And if your product doesn't solve their problem, or they can't see how it does, it doesn't matter how fast it gets to market.
I think in our current business environment, we're so concerned about being first to market. But that doesn't necessarily mean success.
Coca-Cola was first to market in the carbonated beverage industry. And PepsiCo. (second to market) has a $241 billion market cap.
Microsoft was first to market in computer technology, closely followed by Apple, and the two have competed on market cap back and forth since the mid-1970's. Apple was the first to reach $1 trillion in market cap, although both companies are now close to $3 trillion.
Disney was first to market (by a long shot) in animated films. But Pixar films generate, on average, over $25 million dollars MORE per film (adjusted for inflation).
So, really, there's something MORE than just speed to market that generates value. And what might that be?
Knowing WHY you're in a market with your competitors.
You see, I believe that anyone who starts a new business sees a GAP.
A gap that their competitors aren't able to fill; but they ARE.
In in filling that gap, they help DIFFERENT people. And create a LARGER market in total, instead of directly competing for the same customers.
THAT'S what branding is all about.
Event Marketing
This one even I provide timelines for, but let's look past how each event your hosting should have a solid work back and invite schedule, to the more impactful part of the conversation.
So yes, you want to make sure you send out invitations to your event BEFORE the event. And ideally, far enough in advance that your ideal targets have the time available in their calendars💡
Now, that is very dependent on your target audience.
Send invites too far in advance and people will forget, or overbook.
Send invites too close to the event, and people will already have plans.
And there IS value in reminding them of what they committed to.
But while the timeliness is important, it's also important to USE those interactions as opportunities to build your brand.
Let's look at an example: Calgary's Inventures Annual Conference
At the end of each conference, they know the dates for the next one. So, if it's that important to you, you can get your ticket right away.
Throughout the year, they send invitations, promoting their latest keynote speakers or panelists. So, if you like one of those people, you can register.
The days leading up to the conference, you get lots of details of talk tracks to plan your days. And in the days following, they ask for feedback.
None of this is particularly ground-breaking, but it creates a specific experience:
You feel informed
You feel part of something
You feel taken care of
The timeliness is used to create an experience.
So, yes, be timely, but know why you're doing it 😉
Ad Campaigns
Ok, now this one I can straight up disagree with. The speed of an ad campaign is not at ALL connected to the value of the campaign.
Now, I think people generally attach the speed requirements here to a pre-defined sales period as stated above. But we already covered that.
And when we're looking at real-time bidding for PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, this is something that 100% benefits the advertiser and NOT your business.
And here's the thing about digital ads...
They work best when people ALREADY HAVE a relationship with you.
And you know it too, because you personally scroll past HUNDREDS of digital ads for companies you don't care about.
And while the ADS might seem like they need to be timely...
Only the CONSUMER decides if it's timely or not.
Not you.
So, all that effort and all that budget? Might be better served in channels that CREATE relationships first💡
Crisis Management
Ok, I give you this one. I'm a huge proponent of empowering brand experiences, and when a crisis arises, I think it's a company's job to take care of it's clients and employees. And if you agree, then you should have a crisis management communication plan in place...if for nothing but maintaining your brand experience.
Content Marketing
Ok, another one I can fully disagree with 🤣
The speed to market of your content, including blog posts and articles (like this), has nothing to do with how well they are received. Especially if you're not just trying to "hop on" a hot topic.
When I create content, it's because I see a GAP (same concept mentioned above) and I think I can provide a new perspective that's helpful. And sure, I write predominantly on Monday mornings...but that's not because "people mostly read articles on Monday mornings"; it's because I feel most creative on Monday mornings.
And sometimes people consume my content in real time...
But more often, they find it when they need it.
I mean, I've had people read a LinkedIn article 6 months after I wrote it, and then contact me to help them with something.
But that's not because I wrote it quickly. It's because I wrote it meaningfully 💖
A note about SEO: search engines are always changing their algorithms (for the benefit of themselves, not the users), and frequent updates to content help. But again, making them meaningful for your business is MORE important that just having something recent.
Email Marketing
Oh, there's SO much data when it comes to this one. People study what days of the week and what time of day people are most likely to open an email.
But your customers? They're not the generic average. So, if you aren't looking at THEIR specific data, the general data is mostly irrelevant.
Plus, who of you reading this has sent an email at the "ideal" time, on the "ideal" day and didn't get any response?
Yeah, most of us.
Again, the VALUE the email can provide is more relevant than the timing. And people are more likely to open an email from a trusted advisor; and the trust in that relationship was built elsewhere.
I have TWO email newsletters I open on the regular. One from Filip Fucic about pricing (Filip and I have worked together for years coaching each other), and one from Sarabeth Berk Bickerton, Ph.D. (I was in a focus group of hers about Career Belonging and learned SO much). I'm signed up for a bunch more, but those two ALWAYS get a look. And usually a SAVE ✨
Oh, and I have NO IDEA which days they come. Or what time.
Before we leave email marketing, let's talk about follow-up campaigns; sometimes called an Email Funnel.
Usually, these are automated emails that go out after some kind of trigger; a download, webinar attendance, website visit or something of the like.
People put SO much effort into creating a single funnel that works for all people...
Anyone see the problem there?
For most people, their interactions with your business will be unique.
There IS no single funnel that will work for all people.
So...what's the VALUE of doing that work?
It may be timely, but if the relationship we create for people is one of sending stuff fast or often that has no value? Think they're going to open it? Or even notice that it's there?
You just have to tap into your own experience to know that it doesn't work. Yet marketers are doing it on the daily 😣
Knowing Your Ratios
If I asked you today what YOUR speed to value ratio is on your marketing, would you know?
I mean, probably not, since it's not in the list of Top Marketing KPI's that you Googled.
The value of knowing is that there's a new tool DAILY that allows you to do things FASTER. And while AI can definitely add more value than just speed, that seems to be all the MarTech companies care about; more data, more content, faster.
But MORE volume, faster, doesn't necessarily generate RELATIONSHIPS. And unless you add in the value factor, the speed is mostly irrelevant.
So, I encourage you to know your ratio...which will naturally be different than another companies ratio💡
Because, at the end of the day, we DO want speed. But we want to have it running a race we care about winning, not just running to run 😊
Interested in understanding YOUR Speed to Value Ratio? Let's chat!
