I am still so pumped after the Olympics and Paralympics. Each and every athletes’ ability to transcend physical limitations was nothing short of awe-inspiring. What preparation! What determination! What strength!
It got me thinking: What if each of us marketers operated as an Olympian? What would we do differently?
Imagine Holding the Gold
It starts with a dream. You’ve had a brilliant idea that pushes boundaries and can elevate a product or service to new heights. You’ve made sure, beyond the initial burst of inspiration, that your idea is not too similar to other campaigns. But even then, though you have lofty goals for your campaign, are you motivated enough to bring it to fruition? What would an Olympian do?
Great athletes vividly imagine themselves completing a flawless triple axel or finishing a final lap a quarter second ahead of their closest competitor. They hold in their mind the goal of what they hope to achieve and then figure out how they’ll get from here to there.
Make a Commitment to Training
Imagine the remarkable patience and perseverance it takes to train to be an Olympian. Olympians don’t watch a one-time webinar or attend a single conference expecting to master their skill. They develop a disciplined routine and timeline to ensure they’ll be within reach of the winning podium. They work hard every day to be good, then to be better and eventually to become great -- the best in their sport.
No two training systems are exactly alike. A marathon runner builds stamina by putting in the miles and miles. Gymnasts break down every movement during practice, polishing and polishing until their routines have indeed become flawless.
Marketers can take a cue from the dedicated mindsets of the discus thrower, relay swimmers, triathletes and gymnasts.
For those of us devoting our careers to marketing, the training often starts with carefully digging into the data. We analyze how relevant the data are to achieving our goals, rigorously pursuing only those with the right fit. We also must scrub the data to catch inconsistences and ensure that the right target audience is measured in ways that will drive the most meaningful outcomes. We seek creative genius that gets recognized AND engages customers.
Successful athletes continually watch for trends in their sport to excel at the next level of competition. Marketers need to do the same to master new technologies, changing media outlets and evolving audience demographics to compete in today’s dynamic marketing landscape.
Competing to Win Translates to Outcomes
So you’ve done all your training, and now you truly are ready to go for the gold. But world-class athletes do not expect to win every time. The great ones simply are so used to giving it their all that they can’t imagine any other mode of operating.
When we approach our craft with a similar mindset, we are making a very important decision that greatly increases the odds we will achieve extraordinary results. Your goal is to give as much of yourself as you can and execute as impeccably as possible for better and best outcomes.
Will you make mistakes? Yes. Will you sometimes fail? No doubt; we
all
do. So, dust yourself off, go back to your training building blocks, and keep trying to punch above your weight.
As you can see, there are clear analogies between what marketers can do and what the world’s greatest athletes achieve. Do you have a dream? Are you training consistently? And are you in it to compete for the gold? Or, just ask yourself one simple question: What would an Olympian do?
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