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Madison, Wisconsin
Powderkeg Web Design
February 18, 2019

Asking The Hard Questions - Marketing In 2019

Elise
Elise
Asking The Hard Questions - Marketing In 2019

I read an article about the “State of UX in 2019” but felt it really applied to digital marketers in general, even if you are not a “designer.” The content challenges our habitual way of thinking, poses some interesting questions, and overall makes me (and hopefully you at the end of this post) remember WHY and WHAT I want to do BETTER.

The original post is long and pretty designer specific so here is my translation of some key points FOR YOU.

Are you ready? Then let’s dig in!

Sorry I’m Too Busy Being Busy

I love feeling like I’ve accomplished something- especially if it feels like I just breeze right through my to-do list. It’s human nature. But is this business actually productive? Are you holding yourself back?

The original article highlighted the fact that we easily become attached to the habitual methods used in our daily routine. We like reliability and assume we’re being efficient. More work in less time- heck yes.

But wait, what if I told you- IT’S A TRAP!


Habits and routine CAN be good, but they can also be an excuse to stay within our comfort zone. If you do the same things with the same mindset, why should you expect different results?

The article suggested revisiting your long-term vision and strategy to make sure you are not just drifting along day-to-day. What are you actually going to do to get there (make your goals tangible/measurable)? What iterations are you making to that action plan over time?

Some Tips:

  • Start with your concept and then go big or go home- crank out your strangest ideas first.
  • More is not always merrier. Advocate for less.
  • Zoom in and out. Change your perspective, share your ideas with others, write it down.

Overall, make sure you are creating the time and space needed to experiment and think more broadly. Don’t let the business of your daily routine be your measure of success.

Start Saving The World

Yes, you are one person and you might work for a small organization. But what you do, how you do it, and why, matters.

The article mentions that the state of marketing all too often includes:

  • Companies running campaigns that attempt to make things look better than they are.
  • Organizations wanting to hoard as much time and attention of their users as possible, in some cases, supporting addictive behavior.

There needs to be a shift in priorities. How can there be long-term benefits when there is a gap between user needs and what they’re actually gaining?

Your Responsibility:

  • Inform your users– communicate in a way that does not disrupt mental health.
  • Amplify the best of technology and society.
  • Solve problems with the “simplest” solutions.
  • Consider your impact if your product/service/solution had one billion users. Like the outcome?

A Shift In Perspective

We work so hard to engage with our target audience – how many pages did they look at, how long were they on the website – because that is something we can measure relatively easily. And if users want to read our content and buy our products, then all is well, right?

** Insert pondering face here **

But how might you start to measure the success of your target audience and apply that to your own KPIs? Wouldn’t that be the true testament of success?

Where To Start

The original article mentioned that the best place to start, instead of searching for answers, is to search for the questions you should be answering.

I definitely asked you a lot of questions in this post, so hopefully one (or many) connected with you.

Start thinking outside of the box. Be aware of your work habits, motivation and measurement of success. Become a champion of authenticity and collaboration.