Research on long-term athletic performance has determined that daily workouts typically bring better results than sporadic, higher-intensity training for weight loss, cardiovascular health, and minimizing injuries. People who are consistent with their exercise routines are less likely than “weekend warriors” to end up in an emergency room on Sunday night, too.
Are You A Marketing ‘Weekend Warrior’?
Your marketing team can fall into the same cycle of putting out intense effort that is too often followed by exasperation and exhaustion – the same as athletes. Here’s why:
- Start-Up warriors generally focus all their time and effort on their new offering. After launching, they quickly lose steam because their growing business needs nurturing.
- Content warriors often create limited initial content but don’t create new content or update regularly with new information.
- Big-event warriors may plan for months for an important conference and then fall short afterward by not following up or engaging with attendees after the event.
- New-tool warriors get focused on the latest technologies while failing to create the original content the tools need to successfully boost their marketing campaign.
Avoiding Marketing Warrior Syndrome
Here are some steps to take to minimize warrior burnout and get on the road to marketing success.
Set a realistic pace – Setting unrealistic expectations for your marketing team’s goals and budget will likely result in burnout. Instead of launching multiple verticals concurrently, which will cause your budget to wear thin, focus on making your brand known in one market first.
Know when to ask for help — Just as professional athletes know when they need physical therapy, marketers should not be afraid to ask for support from management and leadership, even when there is a set deadline. Your team may need to ask for temporary assistance or require outsourcing in order to meet expectations.
Hold short, consistent meetings regularly – A short-burst high-intensity meeting works great for encouraging marketing brainstorming. However, by having everyone on the team on track and engaged often, you’ll find that consistency and short-term intensity are winners in the long run.
Create timely, enduring, evergreen content as well as current, relevant content — Customers and your potential audience want diverse kinds of content. E-books and content with longevity provide durability, but real-time pieces such as product updates and blog posts provide the information the fast-paced business executive craves and helps keep your site relevant.
Prepare for big events in advance – Just as you would never dream of beginning training for a marathon the week before a race, you should never go into a big event without preparing months in advance. While the most expensive line item in many B2B companies is the marketing that occurs at the exhibit booth, many don’t begin to plan for an effective tradeshow presence until mere weeks before the significant event.
Attempting to select a theme, line up a public relations campaign, choose the appropriate messaging channels and launch a successful exhibit booth draw is impossible in such a short framework of time. Planning your event more than six to nine months in advance is the best way to not get burnt out and make mistakes while setting up upcoming events. Last-minute decisions before a major campaign event lead to sloppy work and team and budget burnout. Instead, take the time to create a reasonable schedule to keep both your budget and marketing team at the top of their game.
