A confession: I like random words. Somehow, as we take our daily conversation down to 140 character tweets and colorful abbreviations (wtf!) we lose track of the power and majesty of choosing the exact, right word. That word for today is triage. Most commonly associated with emergency rooms and battlefield hospitals, triage is a process for sorting the sick or injured based upon their need or anticipated benefit. In other words, triage is the decision making process in time of great need or peril.
In the consulting world, and marketing in particular, I have gotten more triage calls than anything else. Rarely is a marketing team doing so well they feel the absolute need to bring me in. Instead, it’s more of a “what do we do now?” or “traffic is plummeting” or “we just lost 3 marketing associates in a freak tsunami that ripped through Kansas City.”
At each turn, the instinct is to stop the bleeding and get things back to some level of neutral control. Maybe things won’t go up, but at least they’re not going down. Achieving stability is often overrated or at best overlooked. But in every instance, stability allows for a little bit of breathing room.
Once stability is created, you’re technically out of triage. It’s not an emergency setting, and it’s time to establish process. This is where you get to lay the road map to get us out of Iraq and into stable, prosperous marketing terrain.
A key lesson learned while I was in radio: people, whether they admit to it or not, are sheep. They prefer to be led, and will instinctively follow the path laid out for them. One of the first things I do in a company setting is regulate the outbound communications: newsletters, eBlasts, blog posts. When they start to be disseminated consistently, readers notice. They don’t feel bombarded, and you can effectively track habits and tendencies. Opt-outs decrease, and the creative folks are able to plan ahead and schedule topics and themes. It’s a beautiful thing. Simple, but brilliant. Consistency allows your existing and potential sheep to graze happily and with greater retention while also being able to measure results in a beneficial manner.
Consistency is also what keeps you from a return visit to marketing triage…
Scott,
This is a sobering post and all too many organizations run triage units as a mode of operations.
The reality is a triage situation only comes when a team is not prepared and a team is not prepared is when because their boss makes decisions in a vacuum, without participation, and expects complete control.
However, when a team plans together and identifies potential risk and potential opportunity, there should be no panic from the unknown because there is contingency that includes a variety of options.
Nothing is a surprise: revenue decline, operating loss, someone quits, new market opportunity. These are not freak surprises, but are a result of a series of events.
You make a great point about consistency and I have seen when a team does not plan together they will be consistently reacting to triage moments.