Don’t Rely on Single Point Solutions to Solve Your Distributed Marketing Challenges
When we have a problem, we tend to look at it in a vacuum and solve it immediately with the first solution we can find, don’t we? That might work in some cases, but it doesn’t always work with your business. It can be easy for marketers to get shortsighted and figure that only one problem can get solved at a time. They then bring this problem to their procurement team members, who figure that one problem needs one solution. That’s not how it works.
Marketers have to consider the root of a problem and see if it lends itself to a larger solution. They also have to consider how a solution impacts their internal workflows and resources. If a single point solution ends up costing more time and money, it will bring about more problems that will need more point solutions to solve, causing an endless cycle of inefficiency and strain for your team members.
What’s a marketer to do? Consider all of the marketing needs and find a solution that meets all of them. Here’s an example of what I mean:
We recently started working with one of the fastest-growing multibillion dollar companies in the solar energy space. When they first started talking to us, they brought up one specific problem to fix: They needed a faster and more efficient fulfillment solution for their sales rep’s marketing materials. Since these sales reps serve local territories, we asked the client if the reps need to customize these materials with their local information. We reminded them that localized marketing materials have more impact on recipients because they know that a rep is not too far away. We also asked about the other tactics they use, which include direct mail, email, and digital marketing. They were happy to know that these, too, can be customized to target local customers. What they weren’t thinking about was the ability to consolidate all of these marketing tactics together and provide a simple user experience within one comprehensive platform.
This client was set on solving one problem. However, we opened their eyes to a broader, more integrated perspective. We wanted to show them that handling all of these tactics through one source was a more efficient, cost-effective, and valuable consideration for their immediate and future business needs. Now, instead of using different solutions for each problem, this company now works with one comprehensive platform for all of its local marketing efforts.
Before you approach any of your team members about a marketing problem to solve, make sure that you understand not just the nature of the issue, but also how certain solutions will impact your business in the long run. Above all, make sure that you don’t put together a bunch of disparate point solutions for your marketing ecosystem. This will not only upset your team members, but it also won’t seamlessly address all of your problems. A comprehensive solution eliminates the frustrations, tackles all of your marketing needs, and lets you gets back to building your brand.