3 Ws and Some Questions...

Hey-

With the news this week from Dr. Fauci that it is likely a year after a vaccine is developed that things in the States can start to return to “normal”, that should give all of us a little bit of a pause to think about where we are and what we are doing.

The longer the pandemic goes on, the less it becomes about coping, and the more it becomes about surviving.

Personally, follow the 3 Ws: wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance.

Professionally, you may want to revisit your strategy right now.

As a marketer, I like to think through the core aspects of a marketing plan…so let’s refresh our thinking on these basic areas right now:

What is the structure of the businesses you are serving or running?

What is the focus of the business?

Are you focusing on a type of customer or a region?

Where are resources limited now?

Structure is all about the focus of the business and in more cases than not, I am pretty sure you have had to change or cope with that structure differently now.

What staff and skills?

Which ones are still available?

Which ones will folks need?

Where are there issues with achieving the new goals?

In almost every organization I’ve talked with, staffing has or will become an issue. You are also likely to see that there are going to be a great number of new skills that folks are going to have to use or need to achieve success heading out of the pandemic. Have you thought about them?

How have the goals changed?

Let’s be honest, can anyone really say that their goals for 2020 haven’t been altered in some way by the year we’ve been dealing with?

I know I have.

But think about the folks you are leading or serving and ask about how the goals have changed. What are the aspirations going to be for the business now?

What will keep you or your partners from achieving those goals?

Strategies and tactics:

How are you going to hit your goals?

Hell, I’m trying to rethink that everyday.

Are your strategies attached to action plans for reaching your goals?

Is there anything you can do to impact your goals in a positive way now by taking a different set of actions?

Do you have an action plan for your new goals?

I know that this is just a lot of questions to think through, but that’s what I find myself doing a lot of lately.

Maybe y’all will find one or more of them useful.

Dave