Be Careful What You Ask For

by: George Bounacos Monday, August 31st, 2009

Meetings are often held in conference rooms

Don't let this room be empty. TALK about ideas with your team before they're implemented. Image via Wikipedia

Marketing plans sometimes go awry despite the best of intentions.

I worked years ago with a rookie manager who made a number of blunders, but none topped The Great Retention Caper. This manager had two duties: one of which was keeping customers on board once they passed an anniversary date. Since we all know (and I had already modeled for our purposes) the much larger cost of acquisition versus retention, this was pretty big stuff.

Flying out of my office one day, I went to her desk and asked her why the number of cancels had spiked yesterday. That’s when I learned that in a huddle with her staff, this manager had instructed them to use a talking point pretty close to this:

I’m calling because you haven’t been using your membership, and as you know, that’s something you pay for every month. Did you have any questions about using it or is there some way I can help you?

Members were quite happy to tell the caller that the help they preferred was in canceling the membership they no longer needed.

I was reminded of this debacle when I saw a note from another person sharing news about a fundraising contest that starts… tomorrow.

Sales contests and promotions are a tried and true way to make the cash register ring. Announcing the contest days before the start is a tried and true way to ensure that everyone saves their efforts for the contest.

I did.

Both managers involved in these promotions were new and maybe given a bit too much latitude in implementing processes. That’s a fine line marketing leaders and small businesses owners have to walk. Avoid being restrictive, but invite your less experienced managers to share their plans in an open environment. If you have multiple team members at the same level, facilitate the session and shut your yap, pausing only to make sure the peers are playing nice and not posturing or playing politics.

Just the two of you? Create a safe and open atmosphere for discussion. Had the second manager mentioned anything to me, I would have praised the contest because it’s a good one. I might have suggested a teaser or even a pre-contest prize with today being the big announcement. Or I might have done something else.

What I wouldn’t have done would be to kill the team’s month-end efforts. Sometimes we forget that perspective is a byproduct of experience. Make sure you’re sharing your perspective with teammates and staff and create a learning, nurturing, prosperous environment.