Question

“One of the marks of successful people is they are action oriented. One of the marks of average people is they are talk oriented.”

With this statement in mind, why is it important for decision-makers to have a bias for action – i.e., to be action-oriented.

In regards to strategic marketing, what are some of the different approaches that we can use to implement our marketing strategies?

As our discussion progresses throughout the week, please put emphasis on real-world applications.

Answer 1

When given a choice, individuals who choose action over inaction are said to have a trait of Bias for Action. Decision-makers at this juncture do not spend much time thinking and debating whether the approach taken is the absolute correct one, but instead just act in a default state. Normal actions are done only after much deciding and thinking, for individuals who have a bias for action, they automatically do things, not doing a particular task is what takes a decision.

From a real world perspective, no doubt it is important to plan and prepare to go to the gym. The planning to put a system in place that you work-out without really forcing yourself to do the same every day. However, none of this planning and thinking actually matter if you never really work-out. We can plan to an extreme extent without really getting into the job which is clearly visible in front of us. The bias itself doesn’t ensure that success would come for sure, but you will give success a chance only when you decide to act in the first place.

From a marketer’s perspective, marketing should ensure the creation of products and things that are invaluable and interesting instead of simply checking the task boxes of a pre-defined work set. The phrase “bias for action” gets a lot of attention in the marketing and start-up space.

Marketing strategy implementation would need careful tactical planning which is aligned with the broader strategic goal of the organization. We can consider some of the components of approaches:

1.       Go to Market Strategy – The objective here is to reach the marketplace with either a new product or an annual marketing plan. This would involve specific targeting, segmentation keeping in mind the influencers and the channel and communication for all of them.

2.       New Product Launch Strategy – This is a major challenge for companies because this requires knowledge of the target customers, the various channels to reach them, the competition and the overall market scenario. The strategy is driven by clear cut goals in terms of sales volume, customer NPS metric.

3.       Return of Marketing Investment Strategy – The 2 categories of measurement in marketing are a) reporting and accounting to the executive management and b) from the operational front. The value added to the company must be shown here, the focus shifts to more quantitative outcomes like conversions, sales, engagement etc. Once this incremental improvements are shown only then is the credibility established in front of the higher management.