So I have finally decided to prioritize my days. I always think more clearly when I go for a nice long drive so last night I decided to do just that. I figured I needed to find out when I felt I was the most successful and happy in my life and see what was going on at that point. I finally came to the conclusion and decided I needed to add more simplicity in my life.
While organizing my days may not seem simplistic it really can be. I came to the conclusion that I needed to better myself as well. What really came to mind was the fact that I currently am fluent in Spanish and I have always wanted to learn another language. I have now planned time in my day to work out and learn Italian. Today was my first day and it has been a great morning.
I started thinking about how this pertains to Marketing. Well the market is ever-changing and if you do not stay on top of the changing landscapes you will never progress. The great Ogilvy said that “Encourage innovation. Change is our lifeblood, stagnation our death knell.” This is true in anything we do but even more so in business and marketing. Think of the companies that have been slow to embrace change and how long they were on top when the changes came.
In Marketing we have a new platform in front of us, Social Media. While many companies are embracing certain aspects of this new media they do not embrace it well enough. Many marketers understand the need to be there but do not understand how to use it. Worse yet is they do not innovate while there. They are not organized and are not trying to better themselves and their company. It is time to change that.
What do you think can be done to show these companies how to better themselves and get organized in the Social Media realm? Shouldn’t they be studying these technologies for their personal benefit or is it just a passing fad?
Business Afterthoughts by Matt Hodson 
I don’t really think anything should be “done,” necessarily, to show companies how to better themselves–there are already a myriad of companies out there who are organized and successful that should be emulated, but are ignored in favor of focusing on getting large profit margins quickly. A company, before making any decision, should consciously decide whether or not taking X action is going to be worth both the short & long-term costs for whatever predicted short/long-term benefits, and should *always* devote at least a small portion of the organization to R&D across all different levels, whether it’s looking into new products, new ways to communicate with customers, or just new ways to consolidate costs–the worst thing for a company is for it to become complacent and stop growing!
Thanks for the comment! It is very true, without innovation the company will stagnate and anything but progression is digression in the business world (as well as in personal life). A well organized company will already have a plan in place when success is achieved and will carry out that plan to continue progressing.
True that nothing can be done to show the companies how to better themselves but hopefully through market research the company is already trying to better themselves through R&D and better efficiencies. There is always something that can be done to increase profit margins but I would argue that, while profits are ever so important, a shift should be made to focus on another stakeholder, the customer. That is the beauty of Social Media, a focus on the end consumer. After all I am of the belief that when you focus on others’ needs, your needs will also be met.
Being organized usually means having a plan. A truly successful and profitable organization will have a plan. You cannot teach it as it will be different for each company in each industry but a plan needs to be in place.
Thanks again for the comment!