Now that 2020 is behind us, and we have launched full-force into the unknown of 2021, I feel many of us are just holding our breath. Afraid to breathe. Afraid to plan. Just afraid of the "what if'' and the uncertainty.
I get it. It is that elephant in the room that we need to be addressing. In fact, we need to be embracing it.
Ta-Ta 2020
Lots of things about 2020 sucked. (Don't get me started) But, one of the things that we need to realize is that although there were so many unknowns, so many stressors, so many unfullfilled goals...last year was also a teacher.
- A teacher on how to pivot
- A teacher on thinking out-of-the-box
- A teacher on trying new things
- A teacher on focus
- A teacher on simplicity
- A teacher on resilience
We may have had a year that resembled a crazy out of control rollercoaster of emotions...but we learned so much.
Small Wins Add Up to Big Victories
As businesses and entrepreneurs need to pat ourselves on the back and realize that marketing during mayhem is HARD. Even for pros.
Shoot. Marketing is hard anyway, especially if you are someone that is trying to dot all the i's and cross all the t's.
Don't get me wrong, anything worth doing is most definitely worth doing right, however, there is something to be said about looking at what you are doing, and why you are doing it.
Marketing is ever changing. Even with the most evergreen content and approach what works changes. Why? Because the world changes. People change. Budgets change. Change is a part of it, like it or not, and the only way to try to keep up with the massive amounts of change that is inevitable is to minimize and simplify.
Wait. What?
I know what you're thinking. This consulting company is telling me to do less things?
Yes.
More Is Not better. Better is Better.
The more is better mentality is something that has always bothered me on so many levels. Now granted if you have the time and the budget to do all the things the right way, while driving your business in a humanized way, while tapping into the emotions and needs of people, all while staying in tune with your own purpose and your own well being...sure..fine..do it. But, for most of us, we don't have the time nor the budget...and honestly not the willingness to do all the things.
But, that doesn't matter. You don't have to.
Your goal is to connect your service/product with your people. So really the only things that you need to worry about is:
What are your products/services?
Why should anyone care?
Who is your target audience?
How can you connect with them?
Where can you connect with them?
Yes, there are lots of great things that you can do to improve local SEO, drive a bigger social media following, make your website ah-mazing, and more. But, at the end of the day, the biggest goal is to make money by connecting your target market's problem with your solution. And there are many roads to get there.
Sure some may be a bit more bumpy...but a bumpy road that gets you to your destination is still better than a freshly paved road with no destination.
Minimize to Maximize.
It is especially important to drill down to the needle movers during chaos and mayhem. If you don't take away anything else from 2020 and this blog post, just remember the basics. Minimize what you are telling yourself you HAVE to do and look at what you need to do. Doing the basics amazingly will always maximize your productivity. maximize your impact, and maximize your bottom line.