Getting it right the first time!

One thing is sure, we live in a deadline oriented universe. This is sometimes a good thing but not always. There is an old football adage I remember that a player fumbles because he focused down the field, not on securing the football. Many companies do this because they are focused not on marketing the best product possible, but on meeting some arbitrary deadline or some financial goal and draw the proverbial line in the sand.

So then what is marketing supposed to do. Well marketing still has the role of being the defender of the brand. It is the role of the marketing professional to ensure that any actions taken by the organization have the long term effect of enhancing the brand and ensuring that in the long run, sales will be increased. Marketing should also be the voice for ensuring that the product is truly ready for market. Yes there are engineers and product managers who are responsible for ensuring that the product is ready, but they are more susceptible to deadline pressures which exist only to push a product out.

Marketing and communications need to have a pulse on the market and know what is happening and most important what may happen if the product is pushed out too early. The tunnel vision that can often overtake an organization during the push to get a product out and meet some deadline can often be persuasive and frequently intense. It's tough to fight this headwind but by doing so you actually help the company in the long run survive the urge to make poor decisions.

Think of it this way, by doing this marketing is acting like the good parent who makes their child eat vegetables and keeps them from only eating snacks and treats. While the result isn't always a happy child it is a healthier one and the ultimate parental responsibility is a healthy and productive child!