Digging in the wrong place
There’s a pivotal scene during the first installment of Steven Spielberg’s epic Indiana Jones story, Raiders of The Lost Ark, when Indiana and his cohort Sallah excitedly realise that in a race to discover the whereabouts of the Ark of The Covenant, their competition have made a critical error.
As a result, they're digging in the wrong place.
Because prematurely and in the rush to 'win', they've assumed that they already have all the right information on which to proceed.
They failed to perceive there may be other factors, missing insight, questions remaining or observations unobserved or considered, to what they have.
There could be another side (and in the movie, this is literal as the “map” is double-sided).
Watch the scene here:
The scene is an excellent metaphor for what can happen when tactics are rushed out without a proper strategy and/or insight, despite having the intent and organisation to make them work:
There’s a clear goal, and both parties know what it is, but only the successful party is properly establishing a pathway to it (strategy), while the other is jumping head-on into the doing phase (tactics)
Even knowing that their tactics are turning up nothing, they persist without questioning whether the information is right or at best being misinterpreted. They ignore the signs that say stop, look and listen
It’s not that they didn’t have the resources; elsewhere in the movie there’s a scene that pans across the dig and it’s massive, with people and machines banging away at different parts of the ground in a vast valley. The problem is that the resources are all focused on the wrong thing.
The business and marketing world is littered with the remains of brands, products, identity changes, etc and “strategic realignments” that failed to sustain or advance that cause because they were digging feverishly in the wrong place.
Being able to read the signs is critical. Better still is to be patient from the get-go, and make sure some things are checked off.
First, defining markets is the most important activity you, as a marketer, should do. You won’t be able to properly tap into them otherwise and every tactic executed beforehand will be a waste of valuable resources.
Second, resist all temptations to assume you have all the right information already. Knowing what information you need and why is basic to this idea, before you make a single call (unless that call is to someone who can help you get the insight).
And finally, understand the distinction between strategy and tactics. One without the other is pointless.
With tactics only, you’ll be busy and maybe fool some of the people some of the time though will change nothing. Marketers who fake it until they make it are easy to spot.
On the flip, strategy without tactics is equally as pointless (though at least it’s a better start). What’s the sense in knowing what you need to do and then not acting on it?
You’ll only amplify the chances of digging in the right place when you’ve taken the time to get both.
* David Turney is an accomplished, senior marketing leader with over 15 years experience leading the design and development of through the line, integrated marketing and communications strategy.
With experience in verticals and brands that include consumer products and services (retail and trade), automotive, motorsport, transportation and entertainment, David lays claim to a strong record of achievement and success as a strategically-focused (sprint and long game) marketing and communications team leader and mentor.
Invite, Entertain, Interact, Experience, Engage, Motivate is David's mark, customer journey check list and the ties that bind his MO, tapping into the most visceral feelings that drive results.