Be A Lazy Marketer - The Smart Way to Big Revenue By Doing As Little As Possible

Yawn!

I've just rewritten our business plan. The #1 strategy is "Be Lazy." As a corporation we are going to do as little as possible and I suggest that you and your company do the same.

Lazy is logical

It doesn't matter if you are a CEO in the United Kingdom, a CMO in Canada, a Marketing Director in India or an independent entrepreneur is Mexico - your ultimate job is results. The #1 objective is to generate the desired results in the least amount of time and at the lowest cost. To accomplish this objective demands that you be lazy. Doing more than you need to do to generate the results you need doesn't make any sense. The idea is to do the least you can to get what you need.

If you can accomplish your goals for $1.00 why spend $1.01?

If you can accomplish your goals in 60 seconds why work 61 seconds?

If your customers or clients are 100% pleased and satisfied with the results you provide, why do anything more?

The Big But!

The one area where you shouldn't be lazy is perception and awareness. Laziness works as long as the expectations, results and requirements remain the same. The moment something changes you have to re-evaluate and rework. Then you can be lazy again.

Shave the effort with Occam's Razor

Back in history, before satellite TV, Facebook and eBay, people didn't have much to do so they sat around thinking. How odd! William of Ockham was a 14th-century English logician. Old Willy came up with a great idea - entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. Cool concept. Yeah, I know it's in Latin, which might explain how the world of science and philosophy misspelled Willy's name and called it Occam's Razor.

The most straightforward nonliteral version is "The simplest answer is usually the correct answer." What Occam's Razor means to you is - if the results are the same, do it the easy way. You work less and get more.

Dynamic Laziness

Not long ago we talked about the decision-making process and one of the dangerous mindsets was If It Worked Before Let's Do It Again. That same perception can infect your business strategy. The marketing mix we used before is the foundation on the new marketing mix. We don't actually change anything - so to generate more results we'll just work harder. Duh? How do you know if you're infected? There may be symptoms in your marketing plan.

• Your marketing is filled with "broad brush" semi-promises and no details about real benefits and value.
• You tell potential customers and existing customers the same things in the same ways, over and over. And, you expect different results.
• Your strategic planning talks about being customer centric but you never change how you do business or your organization.
• You expect Internet marketing, SEO and transactional web pages to instantly produce sales and conversions. The assumption is a high Goggle Rank and paid search will allow you to "sell right off the page."
• More channels and "touch points" will automatically produce more sales.
• So, what's the cure? Stop, think and take a new, lazy approach. Begin by asking yourself - If you had to start all over what would you do differently?

Starting all over again

Come down with temporary amnesia and look at your business, customers and what you need to happen as if you are starting from scratch. Please don't make this a complex process manned by numerous cross-functional teams. The tools of choice are a yellow legal pad and a #2 pencil. Turn off your "business brain" and just scribble words, phrases, numbers whatever comes to mind. No, this isn't mind-mapping it is scribbling with the simple goal of getting thoughts and data out of your head and on to paper. No organization allowed. I know it might feel silly at first but then you'll feel a strange sense of liberation. Doodling is recommended.

Then, tear all the sheets out, line them up on the desk and copy anything interesting on to the legal pad. Turn on your "business brain" and use the ideas to rethink and re-evaluate your business or marketing strategy. What do you really need to do and how hard do you have to work to make it happen?

1. Where do you currently focus the majority of your marketing budget and efforts?
2. What impact would it have on your desired results if you increased your efforts and expenses by 10%? If you cut them by 10%?
3. Now ponder the big question - What is the least amount of effort and expense we need to devote to generate the results we need?
4. Then adjust the plan to be lazy.

That will never fly!

Too easy. Not enough worry and anxiety. Why don't we trust the easy way? Somehow we believe that there is nobility in suffering. We have to take the rough road because we are supposed to work real hard to prove that we are worthy of the results. The problem is confusing activity with progress. Running in place as hard as you can while wildly waving your arms is active but you aren't going anywhere. So prop your feet up on the desk and be lazy, it's okay.

Lazy pays

• Look for the easiest ways.
• Do what you need to do and then don't do anything more.
• Eliminate anything that doesn't make it easier to deliver desired results quicker and less expensively.
• Satisfy your customers and clients to ensure you get 100% of their available business and then stop.
• Don't feel guilty about being called a lazy marketer or businessperson.

Add your own witty summary and closing thought here.

I was going to write one and then decided "Naw!" I'm too lazy!

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Scroll down - there's much more!

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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.