Marketer Self Sabotage

Why It Happens and Common Sense Tips to Turn Challenges into Leadership Opportunities

Marketers work to deliver value to by intelligently going to market with a solution that meets a defined need and then implementing a campaign that will deliver optimal results at the lowest possible cost. The win? Create market awareness and uncover opportunities that will support sales efforts and positively impact bottom-line revenue. 

Yes, I know…it sounds great, right? In theory it is. What if, however, things don’t go exactly as planned? Vendors miss deadlines and push your project launch out further than you wanted. Prospects are not as interested as you expected they would be. Your sales team is not engaged in the program and questions the leads you send over.

This is reality for a marketer. Things rarely go as planned and there is typically an unforeseen challenge (or two) in your perfect campaign that can put you in a tailspin. What shouldn’t you do when things go wrong? Self sabotage. Inaction or choices fueled by panic or fear will only make things worse—for the campaign, for your career and possibly for your company. Here are some common sense tips on what NOT to do when your next challenge presents itself: 

DON’T…

1. Jump to Conclusions

When things don’t go exactly as planned, it’s natural to assume the worst case scenario. Sometimes what seems really awful just isn’t that bad—and many times you can make it work to your advantage. Carefully think about what the problem means to the success of your program and weigh your options as to how you address it.

2. Rush to a Decision

You pass leads on to your sales team and they are not following-up on them. In fact, they say the leads are bad. You’re frustrated. What to do? Before you do anything—take a deep breath and think through how you can turn this around. Don’t rush into making a hasty or emotion-driven decision that might not be the best one.

3. Panic

Your program is not delivering as expected and your boss is looking for answers. Panic will not fix your problem. Put it aside and focus on what can and needs to be done and communicated to address the issue.

4. Question your Abilities

Don’t make it personal. The work is the work—it isn’t you. When challenges arise, it’s all about how you handle the situation that counts. Questioning yourself only serves to distract your focus.

5. Ignore the Problem

The printer had press issues and your campaign launch is being pushed into the holiday season—not what you wanted. If we close our eyes, will it go away? Not likely. Refusing to acknowledge a problem with your campaign, or hoping that it will resolve itself does nothing for your marketing program or your career. Inaction can lead to disastrous consequences. 

So, what should you do? Marketers struggle to demonstrate their value to the business every day. The last thing we want is to bring a problem to the table. One of the most important factors when challenges arise is to mitigate the damage. Here are must-dos that showcase you as a leader:

DO…

1. Determine Options

There’s always more than one way to address a bad situation. Maybe it’s changing strategy, switching vendors or taking additional steps to ensure success. Consider your best options, weigh the pros and cons to each, choose wisely and be able to back-up your decision.

2. Communicate

Stay positive and in control. Always determine your options before you communicate that there is an issue. Being a leader means not bringing problems to your boss or your client, but advising of the issue and having a viable solution—or solution options—ready to go. 

3. Reset Expectations.

Be sure to examine the impact the challenge will have on your program and be clear if expectations have been impacted. It’s always better to be upfront on what you believe you can deliver vs. crossing your fingers and hoping the campaign outperforms the original plan. If it underperforms, you’re really in hot water.

4. Learn from the Experience

When challenges arise, make sure you identify where things went wrong and put a process in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Proactive planning will help you avoid a similar pitfall on your next campaign. The ability to make the most of a bad situation by learning and sharing the lesson is one of the true marks of a leader.

Posted By: Renee Yeager