Written by Travis Pryor, Digital Account Strategist
Have you ever had a conversation like this?
“Mr. Boss man, we need to invest some financial resources into this new shiny tool.”
“Mr. Employee, didn’t we just invest some financial resources into a new shiny tool last month?’
“Yes, that’s true. But that tool is outdated and doesn’t do everything this new tool does. I think we can increase our revenue if we have this tool.”
“But, Mr. Employee, that’s what you said to me last month about the previous month’s tool purchase.”
Do you find yourself being enticed by every new tool that comes out?
Maybe you’re like me and every email you get that has a new tool you have to research it endlessly.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with new shiny tools. It’s great that we live in a culture of development and expansion. The problem comes when we spend endless amounts of time and financial resources on new tools 
instead of utilizing the tools we currently have at our disposal.
I want to offer two suggestions that might save you some time, money, and generate more revenue for your organization.
Take the time to learn your current tools
I don’t about you, but I’m tired of people telling me that they don’t have time.
It’s a flat out lie.
You have the time; you just don’t have the right priorities. I understand that things come up: schedules get crazy, personal life is busy, you have a family, etc…Those are all legitimate things that take our time. But the reality is that we all have the same amount of time and the same things pulling at our schedules.
When you don’t have time to learn you know that your priorities are out of sync.
Chances are the new shiny tool you purchased last month has great resources for training. Have you taken the time to learn the new tool? Have you taken the time to research? Have you taken the time to engage with the tool for testing? Probably not because it takes time.
What happens most often is that we purchase the new shiny tool for one capability that we saw on an intro video. What we don’t realize is that it does more than one thing. But, because we don’t have time, we don’t do diligent research.
A/B Testing is a great way to get more out of your current tools
Let’s say you take my advice!
You take the time to learn your new shiny tool and find out that you weren’t utilizing it for all of its worth.
Now that you know how your new shiny tool works, let’s do some testing. A/B testing is a great way to test your tool and your content. Don’t write off your new shiny tool just because it didn’t produce the right result the first time around.
When doing A/B testing make sure you:
- Allow adequate time for your test
- Test one thing at a time
- Analyze results
- Test other factors
Final Thoughts
I work in the tech industry and understand that things change daily. Nothing stays the same for very long. Which is a blessing and a curse.
One thing that I learned early on is that strategy doesn’t change, but our tactics do. Just because your shiny new tool isn’t working, does not mean that you should abandon ship. It takes anywhere from 12-18 months before we really understand if our efforts are working, if our tools are helping us in our strategy. Don’t be afraid to wait things out.
Let your strategy drive your decisions. The tools you use are tactics and are not the driver for your organization. Strategy comes in all shapes and sizes and should be part of all your digital marketing services. You should have an SEO strategy, a social media strategy, and an inbound marketing strategy.
Based on customer research, analytics, and a competitive analysis we can help you develop your inbound marketing strategy.
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