Marketing musings inspired by 112 days on my motorcycle

In motorcycling, it’s important to “ride your ride.” On my trip, it meant not worrying if someone else was faster or slower on the straightaways; leaning more in the turns, or less; riding more miles in a day, or fewer; starting earlier in the day, or riding later into the evening. It meant that I knew my goals, priorities, capabilities, resources, and especially my boundaries.

Does that mean I was always 100% comfortable, didn’t push myself and never took risks? Of course not. I rode amazingly twisty, narrow, and steep mountain roads along the edge of 1,000+ foot cliffs. I rode several 400+ mile days in 90+ degree temperatures. I rode about 20 feet away from a grizzly bear, and was even closer to 2,500 pound bison. I may have even exceeded the posted speed limits on a few occasions. I made conscious decisions to do these things.

I analyzed as much as I needed to, while not overanalyzing every situation and going nowhere. Most importantly, I kept a sharp eye out for signs that I was making the right decisions, or the wrong ones If you watch my video of me riding the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, you’ll see that I pull over into a turnout for a minute. I was scared riding next to such a steep drop-off, but I decided that I both wanted to keep going and was capable of doing it. So, I kept going.

Later in my trip, I learned that the drivers of the red tour busses at Glacier are taught that if they are ever in a situation where they aren’t sure what to do, stop and assess. If you aren’t sure if you have enough room to make that turn, stop and assess. If someone is tailgating you, stop and assess. If you think you see something in the road, stop and assess.

In marketing, there is no shortage of people who will tell you what they think you should be doing. Whether it’s more collateral, customized success stories, advertising in certain places or with their favorite copy, attending or exhibiting at specific conferences. There will also be competitors with different ideas about ads, websites, collateral, exhibits, pricing, campaigns, and presentations.

It’s easy to get caught up in the fire drills that happen when the market or a competitor does something new or different. As a marketer, you’ll have every department, including marketing, asking how you’re planning to respond to this new information. You may feel that you ought to have an answer to this question as soon as you’re asked. People are asking out of fear, and this is where you need to remember that you’re riding your ride and this is another input.

It’s ok to stop and assess. When people bring up new challenges, it’s also ok to ask my three favorite questions: What do you think this means? How urgent and important do you think it is to us? What do you recommend?

As a marketer, ride your ride:

1. Do your thing exactly the way you believe will achieve your goals with complete conviction.

2. Watch the landscape for signs that you’re on the right track, or that you need to change tracks.

3. Respect that others doing their thing will believe exactly the opposite of you, with just as much conviction.

I hope that’s helpful.