Rethinking Marketing: Inch By Inch Destroys “The Big Idea”
July 12, 2012 
Author 
In 
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and although I’ve written about this before, it’s worth repeating. If your marketing is structured in a way to show up every day, you’re going to dominate those who work forever on big ideas and never ship.
I’m not saying to completely ignore the big idea and not spend cycles working on creative content or campaigns that permeate a category. It’s worth the investment if it’s the right idea and you’ve got a clear objective behind it. But if you’re out there daily interacting with a community and building relationships / sharing ideas / adding value, you’re far better positioned for outcomes from social.
Here’s the problem: most brands still champion the big idea and don’t understand the value of being a part of the daily conversation in an industry. Perhaps it’s because leadership only notices the big things, while actual users pay more attention to the smaller interactions and content that make up the meat and potatoes of the social web. Either way, you need to value incremental returns as much as the big idea.
When you analyze organic marketing KPIs, it’s those brands who have a consistent, efficient and interesting drip of content (with the right mix of big ideas) that rule. It’s because they are consistently closing the loop between their marketing and their audience and able to iterate based on data at a rapid pace. They run circles around slow competitors.
So don’t throw out the big, creative ideas. But realize it’s all the stuff in between you have to lock down first. Showing up to the party when it’s convenient or planned will never get you as much trust or results as being a regular. And when you’re a regular who shows up with something amazing, you’re well positioned to have your idea spread even further.
image credit: Shutterstock
Geoff Livingston replied | Jul 12, 2012 (8 comments)
I think consistency is the key word you hit on here. Without question, when you are regular people come to trust you and that means showing up every day (or close to it). Well said.
B.L. Ochman replied | Jul 13, 2012 (1 comment)
Totally agree that consistency is the key to relationship building. Companies get caught up in details while opportunities to engage evaporate.
andrew replied | Jul 13, 2012 (42 comments)
Amen. The big idea actually is the cumulative effect of the little ideas.
Allison Rapp replied | Jul 14, 2012 (1 comment)
I work with holistic practitioners to help them get more clients. With 35+ years as a Feldenkrais® practitioner myself, I can attest that there’s a huge drive in many people who do this sort of work to get it right before they get it out. Helping them understand how that negatively impacts their clients is an important step in changing it.
Appco Group replied | Jul 30, 2012 (2 comments)
Marketing companies focus on building relationships with customers rather than selling products.
Stanley Rao replied | Jul 31, 2012 (2 comments)
I feel it is the consistency that matters here.. good post and great suggestions
Jason Thalman replied | Sep 7, 2012 (1 comment)
Marketing is the same as the apple a day philosophy, it ultimately leads to a healthy life. Practice daily and you will have a healthy business.