As we dove headfirst into our own kitchen renovation last week I started to get very excited about the progress. Within just a day or two all of the demo was done and a few days later new floors and drywall are in. It’s amazing how fast it went.
But then I realized how much is really left to do. This renovation, just like any successful campaign or project is about follow-through and details. Our kitchen isn’t completed until the last piece of door hardware is installed and the last backsplash tile is set. That means that even though so much has happened in a week, it’s all of the small things that have to happen in the next 3 weeks that really matter now. Each one of those events are dependent on several before them; they take time, attention to detail, and coordination with multiple vendors.
I’m often saying how similar marketing and AEC industry professionals really are from a project management standpoint, and I think our project is a great example.
Imagine that an immense amount of effort and time go into a plan – a marketing plan or a set of drawings – but then the job suffers in the execution. Maybe we lose sight of the goals. Or we throw all of our money at conferences instead of a new website. Perhaps we sit the plan on the shelf now that it’s “done” and don’t bother using it as our barometer to gauge future decisions. What are we left with at the end of the year? A marketing plan that didn’t work? Or was it tactics that weren’t in line with the proper strategy?
The point I guess I’d really like to get across with this post is that, while I usually write about the importance of developing a strategy to guide your marketing tactics through the year, the tactical execution is just as important. The two have to be of equally high quality to create consistent marketing success – and they have to be in line with one another if you want to measure your success against your expectations.