Marketers have become slaves to best practice. But when your job is to make your brand stand out, isn’t it counter-intuitive to move with the pack? Read our rant, Best Practice is Killing Marketing, and see why it’s time to: - Start experimenting with new ideas - Learn what customers need right now (not six months ago) - Test things you’ve always been scared to try - Create an agile marketing culture

1. Why ‘best practice’
is killing marketing
A wake-up call for marketers who
know they could do better.

2. ?
Is it just us?

3. Or is most
marketing
kind of...

4. !
well...

5. CRAP?

6. “Me too” campaigns.

7. Lazy stereotypes.

8. Content nobody reads.

9. Web pages full
of DEAR GOD JUST
KILL ME NOW.
Emails nobody wants.

10. 1996
Messages that
were relevant last
year (maybe).

11. 1996
Web pages full
of DEAR GOD JUST
KILL ME NOW.

12. Just about everyone thinks marketing is getting

13. WHY?

14. Two words:

15. 1
BEST
Two words:

16. 1
2
PRACTICEBEST
Two words:

17. Yes, it sounds crazy,

18. but bear with us.

21. Let’s talk about

22. a good marketer, right?

23. ...keep up to date with research.

24. ...keep up to date with research.
...take an interest in new ideas and technology.

25. ...keep up to date with research.
...take an interest in new ideas and technology.
...listen to industry viewpoints.
(You must do. You’re reading this.)

26. And that’s great.

27. But still.

28. If you’re anything like
us, there’s always this
nagging thought...

29. YOU COULD DO BETTER.(Couldn’t you?)

30. Think about
your best work...

31. A piece of marketing that makes you

32. Did you discover
a new market?

33. Learn something new
about your customers?

34. Find a great
angle?

35. Communicate
in a new way?

36. React
fast?

37. You did something, right?

38. You understood
your customers.

39. You changed
the game.

40. You gave your
brand an edge.

41. That’s
marketing. As it should be. (And we applaud you.)

42. So forgive
us for asking

43. Why isn’t all your
work like that?

44. Don’t worry.
It’s not just you.
It’s everyone.

45. Nobody starts
a career in marketing
dreaming of...

46. 9
5
Business as usual.

47. 9
5
Picking your battles.

48. 9
5
Feeding processes.

49. 9
5
Appeasing
stakeholders.

50. 9
5
$1 $1
Justifying budgets.

51. 9
5
$1 $1
Avoiding risks.

52. But everyone’s under
the same pressure

53. M
And that’s why most
marketing sucks.

54. Used any of these excuses?

55. “That’s just how it’s done
in our industry.”

56. “I don’t want to rock the boat.
People might look at me like
I’m crazy.”
“That’s just how it’s done
in our industry.”
Translation:

57. “That home page
image was chosen in
a top-level meeting.”

58. “That home page
image was chosen in
a top-level meeting.”
“We think stakeholders
are more important than
our customers.”
Translation:

59. “This is all there’s time
and budget to do.”

60. “I don’t know which parts
of my existing budget
are wasted.”
Translation:
“This is all there’s time
and budget to do.”

61. “Everyone’s doing it.”

62. “It’s trendy, and if we
don’t join in, we might
look stupid.”
Translation:
“Everyone’s doing it.”

63. “I saw this presentation
at a conference, and it
looked great.”

64. “This worked OK, for someone
else’s customers, a year ago.
I’m sort of hoping it still works.
Translation:
“I saw this presentation
at a conference, and it
looked great.”

65. Really, what you mean is...
“I’m under pressure. I only have so
many resources. I’m the one who’ll
get fired if it doesn’t work... So I’m
sticking with what feels safe.”

66. And that’s...
Conventional wisdom
Industry trends
and (dare we say it)

67. 1
BEST
And that’s...
Conventional wisdom
Industry trends
and (dare we say it)

68. 1
2
PRACTICEBEST
And that’s...
Conventional wisdom
Industry trends
and (dare we say it)

69. And, you know what?

70. WE DON’T BLAME YOU.

71. In your position,
taking a big,
blind leap of faith
would be really,
really stupid.

72. !
Except your
comfort zone’s
none too
comfortable

73. !?
Conventional
wisdom’s not all
that wise

74. Help!
and your
low-risk policy’s
pretty risky.

75. Because you know
you can do better.
(And, sooner or later, one of your competitors will.)

76. But what if you
just changed
something small?

77. ...and, if that
worked, change
something else?

78. ...and monitored
the effect of that?

79. What if you could
test whether all your
current assumptions
are actually true?

80. What if it was

81. What if it was
QUICK,

82. QUICK,
What if it was
EASY

83. $1 $1
EASYQUICK,
What if it was
CHEAP

84. $1 $1
The “I don’t need
to ask for budget
approval” kind.
(And if it didn’t work, you could put
everything back the way it was.)

85. Wouldn’t that sort of
set marketing free?

86. What would you
do with that sort
of freedom?

87. Would you...

88. Test out possible
responses to new
opportunities in
real time?

89. Answer your
customers’ real-
world problems?

90. Find out which
potential offer brings
more sales?

91. Check your
personalization, to
see how customers
actually respond?

92. Prove to the board
it’s time to change
your approach?

93. Make decisions
based on data,
not anecdotes?

94. Would you...

95. ...well...

96. Do more marketing that makes you

97. Look at your website.

98. We bet you can think
of ten ideas right
now that just might
increase sales by 2%.

99. If even half of them
work that’s probably
the easiest 10% growth
you’ve ever earned.

100. Truth is, lots of small
improvements add up
(and they make it easier to see where the next big
improvement is coming from).

101. You just need to find
out which ideas work,
and which don’t.

102. At EPiServer, we’re aiming to make
focusing on what works best as

103. QUICK,
At EPiServer, we’re aiming to make
focusing on what works best as

104. QUICK, EASY
At EPiServer, we’re aiming to make
focusing on what works best as

105. $1 $1
EASYQUICK,
as possible.
At EPiServer, we’re aiming to make
focusing on what works best as
CHEAP

106. But the rest is up to

107. It’s your call: you
can wait for the
next inspirational
case study...

108. Or you can write it.

110. Make a difference.

111. Read more

112. Share this rant
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