This article is all about marketing strategies. I love the comparison to an iceberg because they have very important things in common. I’ll use this article to help you understand what those commonalities are. You’ll also learn why they are significant, and what it means for you.
What’s an iceberg?
An iceberg is a large floating mass of ice. It has detached from a glacier or ice sheet and carried out to sea.
Let’s look at some quick facts about icebergs, they:
- Vary in size
- Travel with the current
- Don’t last forever
- Extend far below their surface appearance
Okay, so now we know a few factual things about icebergs. Now what? How does that relate to marketing strategies?
What are marketing strategies?
Marketing strategies are a roadmap to growing your business, through marketing channels. They are often forward-looking, and proactive.
Marketing strategies:
- Vary in size, longevity, and sustainability
- Organically change with the market and technologies
- Need to be adjusted as time passes
- Are deeper than what you can tangibly see
What does it mean for you?
Size
You’d be challenged to find icebergs that are exactly the same in shape, size, and texture. The same is true for marketing strategies. Have an open mind to understanding just that. They aren’t all alike. They shouldn’t be cloned within industries. Marketing can often be based on experience. This means you’ll probably get different strategies from each person you brainstorm with.
Ocean’s Current
Icebergs will always travel with the current of the ocean. They are always changing. Sometimes the change is predictable. This sounds just like marketing strategies to me. Marketing changes with the flow of current. That current could be industry, consumers, technology, etc. There are many factors to affect these changes. Marketing changes often. Sometimes that change is predictable. You should expect that your marketing strategy evolves. I recommend you have it evaluated often.
Marketing is a changing environment, much like waves washing up on the shore.
Shelf Life
New icebergs are formed as they fall off from glaciers. Existing icebergs will eventually melt. Unlike an ice cube, they melt quickly once it begins to occur. Look at a glacier as if it was the full marketing capacity of a business, from the womb to tomb. An iceberg can represent a phase of marketing. A smaller piece of a much larger one. Marketing strategies eventually need to be redirected. New strategies implemented, meeting the current market climate. (That was intended to be punny.) When marketing strategies start to become ineffective, the breakdown is rapid. When efforts stop, and adjustments are never made, things can change. It will be just as rapid as the iceberg’s melting process.
Below The Surface
Icebergs are notorious for being deceiving. 90% of an iceberg’s mass is underwater. The most significant detail of an iceberg is in what you cannot see. Remember the Titanic? Marketing strategies are the same way. Only a small fraction of it is tangible. So many ‘moving parts’ that can make or break the effectiveness. The challenging part for business owners is exactly that. Much of what you need, isn’t seen. Because it isn’t seen, it’s often overlooked. Often misunderstood.
There’s a LOT of unseen mass to an iceberg. Just as there’s a lot of unseen moving parts to digital marketing
Your marketer should be able to explain what’s happening ‘under the hood’ in your strategies. I don’t recommend trying to understand all the technicalities. Unless you find it fun. I will always recommend you ensure that your marketer understands these intangibles. That they understand the 90% that is beneath the surface.
If you have questions about what’s underneath the surface of your marketing strategies, Let’s Chat!
Thanks for reading! I appreciate your stopping by