The IC3 Blue Train - A little journal about design, marketing, sales and other matters

“Do Nothing” is still a very important business option!

After just over ten years of advising large and small businesses on marketing matters, I’m still amazed by how many companies select “do nothing” after seeking advice. And it’s not just me. Last week I shared experience with a good friend who is a financial advisor. He has the same problem, and many of his colleagues witness the same: prospect and customer procrastination.

I roughly and cynically classify customers and prospects in four categories (the picture represents a typical bell curve but I have no statistical evidence to prove it is right – just intuition).

Category 1 people are the ones who reject your advice wholesale. They know better. Most are technology-centric experts in about everything, who sit in the middle of their little box and who can’t appreciate the point-of-view of an outsider. Many even pay for the privilege of not listening to you!

Category 2 companies accept your advice and pay for it. They understand the strategic alternatives, the business development proposals and the implementation plans. But they keep doing the old thing over and over, expecting a different result (this is one definition of insanity ;-), because that's their comfort zone, where ‘change’ is a dirty word.

Category 3 organisations are often lifestyle businesses. The owner feels the need for change, the necessity to move forward and the desire to do something outside of the daily routine / boredom. So, after much procrastination, they agree to try one marketing programme; but it’s often too little too late. And they don’t mind: they have been ‘seriously’ entertained during office hours.

Pretty gloomy so far, isn’t it. Fortunately, category 4 businesses understand that marketing is a two-way street and engage in a series of meaningful and practical actions. They collaborate with advisers to design a strategy, to develop a plan and to execute the right priorities. They understand trials and errors and are quick to adapt. Challenging, but rewarding.

Overall, thank goodness, this business is still lots of fun.