Last weekend, I was working in my garden and perturbed that I had to duck around a tree branch, which was now inconveniently draped over several steppingstones. I squandered a few minutes, contemplating whether I should move the steppingstones.

Would I be upsetting their pseudo feng shui?

Awakening to the silliness of my indecisiveness, I got on my hands-and-knees, moved the stones, and then dug up a couple of sprawling daylilies, planting them where the stones previously rested.   

Complété! Why hadn’t I done it prior instead of cursing the low-hanging branch?

Stumbling instead of stepping

Later in the day, I realized the steppingstones were analogist to past projects. I recall a marketing director who was faced with maintaining market share for a feature-rich version of an application. Users, however, were switching or initially opting for the free version. While the freebie had fewer “bells and whistles,” it was “good enough” for most users.

I set to work, writing new messaging, and positioning, elaborating on the benefits of the full-feature version, highlighting the long-term goodness of using a more robust application that could be customized and integrated with other applications and processes. I then created a lengthy presentation with the new messaging, complete with snazzy new graphics and branding. That’s as far as the project went.

The steppingstones didn’t move. No updated web content. No snappy social media. No new customer-facing communications.

Similarly, I recently worked with a company that wanted to revise their messaging, and then update their outdated website. I wrote a lengthy document, which examined their industry, competitors, target audiences, buyer personas, and user pain points. I then crafted value statements, benefits, elevator pitch, and narrative about their offering.

The client took a quick look at the elevator pitch, and felt I missed the mark. No problem. I’ve written dozens of messaging and positioning frameworks, and it’s common to rewrite the value statements and elevator pitch several times, making them more succinct and descriptive.

She then shared her insights. I did some rewriting, being careful to weave in the most salient and differentiating proof points. Once again I missed the mark, and she shared another perspective on her company. This happened several times over the course of several weeks with her scarcely reviewing what I’d written and pivoting in another direction each time we spoke.

While I’ve spent weeks refining messaging, I’ve never been in a situation in which the client continually waffled. Finally, it became clear what she was truly seeking was a catchy, succinct tagline that defined her company and the value it offered to users. While writing reams of messaging, I’d proposed at least a dozen, but all were nixed.

She was looking for the ultimate steppingstone, overlooking the fact that even if the first stone isn’t perfect, it leads to additional stones, providing the means to reach and engage prospects.

Thinking through these scenarios, I arrived at three conclusions:

Relinquish what isn’t working

It can be straightforward or require some “digging” to figure out what’s not working. You might have a fabulous website with snazzy photos and catchy copy, but if it doesn’t motivate visitors to click for additional information, make a purchase, or download resources, its effectiveness is questionable. Ditto for social media posts, digital ads, and other online content, which doesn’t elicit the desired outcomes.

Gerry McGovern, author of Killer Web Content, likened dated and inaccurate web content to a bowl of rotting fruit on a hotel reception desk. When fresh, it’s appealing and welcoming. A week later, it’s stinky and undesirable.

Tossing out what isn’t working – especially if it took time and resources to produce – is difficult, but a necessary step in advancing a company, product, or program. There are countless modern-day examples of companies that held onto their identity, product mix, marketing, and sales approaches, realizing too late, their customers were spending their dollars elsewhere.

Accept imperfection

In the long run, it’s better to charge ahead with revisions, campaigns, and crucial marketing activities than procrastinate in hope of creating the preeminent messaging, graphic, meme, brochure, or other marketing media. In the grand scheme, customers gloss over what’s presented to them, searching for the information, answers, and products or services they need.

Think about retailers. They might have an eye-catching display at the door, hoping to attract shoppers. Perhaps, they’re prominently displaying sales signs, have spiffy endcaps, or offer free samples. For the most part, shoppers are focused on why they entered the store, and not on assessing the sales tactics and associated language and graphics.

Creating timely communications that are targeted to your audiences with clear, understandable language, effective calls-to-action, interesting imagery, and engaging design, will yield better and faster results than striving for perfection. 

Delight in the new

The process of re-imagining, revising, and creating anew can be emancipating, uncovering ideas and approaches, which previously were concealed under layers of outdated messaging, iconography, and branding. It refreshes the passé, awakens current users, engages new ones, and increases brand exposure.

From a quantitative perspective, when you update content – most of which appears online nowadays – there’s a boost in search visibility with the content moving from static to active, improving search engine optimization, and hence bolstering awareness, clicks, downloads, and inquiries.

Turn options into opportunities

When we first moved into our ocean-front house, a handful of large circular steppingstones were visible in the garden. As I started taming the overgrown landscaping, I unearthed additional stones hidden under inches of sand, eventually finding twenty-eight.

Throughout the years, I’ve honed their placement, snuggling them into the ground, so they won’t move, and turning one pathway into two.

Marketing is similar. You need to keep your options open, quickly adapt within changing environments, and recognize opportunities when they present themselves, even if they’ve yet to be fully defined.

Thanks to Lisa Baker for her photo on Unsplashed