Brand Strategy

Don’t Perfect It – Ship It!

Are you a perfector? Or a shipper? 

 

Alright, be honest: Are you a shipper, or a perfecter? 

In my work as a fractional CMO, I see these two groups everywhere I go. No matter what level you look at — executives, team members, interns — there are people who are looking for perfection in marketing campaigns.

 

“I just want to clear one thing up: there is no such thing as perfection in marketing campaigns.” 

 

Getting stuck in the perfection loop = you never ship anything!

I work with clients and I watch them go through 5, 10, 15 rounds of reviews. You gotta get to SHIP IT, and ship it is “good enough.” I’m not saying put crap out there. I’m saying that all that time spent on reviews is time that you’re not connecting with potential customers or existing customers, or that your marketing message is not in the market. The whole point of your go-to-market is to be in the market. If you’re striving for perfection, it’s never going to happen. 

So how do you get to good enough to ship it

 

1. Channel the Customer Mindset.

I can’t tell you how important this is. In my Fractional CMO work, I spend a lot of time with my clients and their marketing teams to help them get better at the copywriting process. Their most common mistake? They’re not channeling the customer. They’re saying what they want to say instead of what the customer needs to hear. 

 

2. Provide a Nugget of Value

So, what are you going to tell the customer? What are you going to give them? What’s going to help them think differently in that email, or in that video, or in that podcast, or in whatever it might be? Give them something of value. Action items, a piece of advice, something they can take away to start thinking and doing something different.

 

3. What Do You Want Them to Do?

Shipping gets hung-up on this step. Is your marketing message just about communicating some value? Are you trying to start a conversation? What are you trying to get them to do something? Take them on the journey and lead them to the water. 

 

You’ve got to get to ship it! Perfection is a myth, so don’t even continue to chase it.

Ship it, and do it!

 

Tags: fractional cmo, Marketing, value
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