On My Radar: Surviving and Thriving.

Become A Resource Waiting To

Happen.
I was recently interviewed for an article in Main Line Today titled “Who’s Surviving and
Thriving.” If this is true about me it is because I have begun serious examination, review and
education in the process of surviving. Musing about this topic, some key words came to me:
surviving=challenge=growth=new beginnings=strategy=guerrilla
marketing=battlefield/marketplace=survival tactics.

Survival tactics, a practice commonly applied in describing battles, selecting weapons and
other war-related terms, is now a phrase that many of us are using to describe survival in these
recessionary times where the enemy is the economy (unseen) and forces beyond our
immediate control. The Battlefield is, well, everywhere we go. The supermarket , our desks
where bills become law (I know, it happens in Washington, too), and, the workplace—the new
frontline.

And everyday we face the enemy, it is ubiquitous, and unyielding. Statistics often belie the
reality, and promises by politicians and business leaders often cloud our personal decision-
making. Yes there are rays of sunshine and glimmers of hope ( for example new homes sales
are up and the housing industry seems to reflect positive activity. But if not now, when? This is
THE time of year when sales are the strongest, plus the added measures of low interest rates,
reduced prices, tax and other incentives and flourishing inventory. ) This may be a beacon to
some, glimmer to others, but it does present opportunities to be a resource as businesses are
activated along with home sales and ensuing marketplace/workplace activity.

Prioritization. Perhaps. More targeted to survival: “Madonna-ization” of ourselves, families,

businesses and organizational cultures – reassessing who we are, what our skills and passions
are, the availability of collaborative resources, goal-setting and how we can optimize and
monetize all of this. Many questions to be answered. Begin with honest evaluation.

Before you even hit the ground, bring your skill set with you. Choose wisely. This may surprise
you. The sharpest tools are the ones you are the happiest with not necessarily the ones you
have been using. Less rhetorically, take your ideas that you believe in and have been kicking
around and talking about for years, the depth of knowledge and understanding and the passion
behind them, and then let them work for you. (Take the test, don’t let the test take you). You
may not win the first battle – or get the sale the first place you visit, but you will learn what you
need to in order to win the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time. Then you will have the satisfaction of winning your
own game, not the game you may have been winning for others.

As a marketer, I am called upon to be a Madonna regularly, but the reinvention process never
strays from the basic mission and identity. Brand identification and issue shaping and molding is
what I do best. But that doesn’t preclude change, it invites it. It is essential to be evolving,
learning and growing, despite learning curves in digital mastery, familiarity with technical
vernacular and becoming more adroit in information access, documentation and application.
SEO components, new opportunities for compelling drip campaigns, establishing new links,
distribution and enhanced content and visibility that may be unique to a particular industry,
region, culture, organization, sport or nonprofit can be designed and tweaked very easily and
inexpensively. Something that happens within a particular industry may trigger an opportunity
for others, rivals or competitors, to extol their programs, services or products , or even present
their own case to the public. Now they have a forum, the platform is just a click away. And the
digital landscape, like the Blue Horizon, may loom as a giant ray of sunshine on our daily
battlefield, not just the frontline, but the new frontier.

B2B, B2c and P2P marketing engages everyone to be more strategic in targeting
communications. In order to do that you must really do your homework and spend the time
doing research. It may not be as exciting as the actual implementation, but it accomplishes your
goals and builds your own credibility, trustworthiness and reliability not to mention your
background and resourcefulness. Become a resource looking for a place to happen – and it will.