By Ahmed al-Akber/Manama
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When I worked for Fortune 500 companies, I was known for being a perfectionist. I toiled over strategies and spent a great deal of time thinking, writing, and talking about marketing plans. Nothing got past me as far as planning was concerned, and I was rewarded for it. I only realised how limiting this style of work was when I left Corporate America to start my own business. It was very early on when I realised that my marketing results were suffering as a result of over-planning. That’s when I understood that seeking perfection can damage your business in a lot of ways. Here’s how:
1. Perfection in marketing is not attainable. You can always do things better, faster, and cheaper. But that doesn’t mean your marketing needs to be perfect - it needs to be successful. And success only happens when things get done. Therefore focusing on getting marketing activities done and learning what works and what doesn’t, and how to do them better, is the best way to achieve success.
2. Perfection hampers our mindset. When you aim to be perfect, nothing you do will ever be good enough, and you will always be second-guessing yourself. Your confidence gets heavily affected, and you play not to lose rather than to win. Aiming for perfection is also unrewarding and frustrating, as you are working towards something that can’t be achieved.
3. Perfection misses the point. Seeking perfection will mean that you are constantly frustrated, as perfection is not a real goal and can never really be achieved. Success is your marketing goal. Customers don’t look for perfect products and services, even if they say they do. Customers want their needs met, and your job as a marketer is to understand those needs and give that to them.
4. Perfection wastes time. When you work towards perfection, you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time on smaller things, and not the big things that matter. You’ll make small changes that your customers won’t even notice, and miss out game-changing features that could make you successful. Don’t waste your time!
The next time you find yourself splitting hair to achieve perfection, ask yourself: does my customer really want this? If I achieve this, who will notice? How will it make a difference to the world? Remember your goal in marketing is success, not perfection.
♦ Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on [email protected]
