Weary of cheesy Valentines Day posts?
Did you have your fill of silliness last week? Click baiting titles and abstruse metaphors? Did you even say to yourself "This is a perfect example of the inanity of digital marketing, and why it would never work in our industry/with our customers"?
I absolutely understand. B2B business growth isn't built on bromides - it takes hard work and commitment. It's far more like the work of a long-term marriage than simply a fleeting valentine. The deep, abiding comfortable love of companionship takes commitment, unlike the superficial advice of most valentines themed business posts
And it takes time. I remember asking one of my colleagues in India when I owned my business there about arranged vs. "love" marriages. His answer? "Well Mr. Ed, you see after enough time you absolutely grow to love each other."
This is relevant how?
Valentines day/social media inanity and long-term marriage you ask? Where's this going?
They're relevant to business growth strategies. Here's how.
- I observe lots of companies treating both their global sales and digital marketing activities like some sort of affair on the side. It's like a brief interlude of excitement from the drudgery and hard work of real business. But excitement eventually fades; they make promises which conflict with their long-term commitments; and in the end they'r left with an initiative that ends in disappointment and their main goals in jeopardy.
- There is no quick fix. There's no witty card; no "viral" social post; no whispered sweet nothing that serves as an alternative to lots of hard work and caring. Of course this doesn't mean you can't celebrate or observe special days as occasions of note. But it does mean that business growth strategies aren't built on an occasional public pronouncement with otherwise routine reversion to the status quo.
Business growth strategies require passion and patience
It's neither easy nor quick - and therefore both passion for success and patience for reasonable progress are required. But those aren't enough. You've got to have vision for where the work takes you. Absent that, you're like the couples who wake up one day after their kids have left the nest and realize there's nothing left which binds them.
Instead your strategies, and component elements such as digital marketing and international sales growth must focus on long-term goals. Benchmarks and accomplishments along the way are important for course adjustments and intermediate justification. But they're not business outcomes - they're indicators.
While there's no 'users guide' for marriage, we've got a whitepaper that outlines the complexity of today's revenue growth environment for B2B companies. Check it out for some insight into how companies can skip the heartache of a fling by focusing on building long-term success.
