Well, maybe not new, but certainly worthy.
Holistic is a word that has gone through many iterations of societal perception and definition. Much like “whole wheat” popular in the 1970s (remember them?) holistic came to be associated with alternative medicine and nutritional healing. Even the dictionary definition is identified with nutrition, behind holism. But leave behind these definitions for a moment, the practical meaning of the word is simply “big picture”. An holistic approach is a big picture approach. Look at the entire system, or business, not simply the individual parts when taking any action.
Marketing can suffer from a lack of this perspective. When a marketing firm is asked to promote a business without being let into the long term corporate objectives and goals along with the subsequent marketing objectives and goals they are really working at a loss. How can one accomplish a goal without knowing what that goal is? Or put another way, movement toward long term objectives cannot happen if those objectives are unknowns.
I’ve likened this to traveling. If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll never get there. This metaphor highlights the simple idea that being able to quantify progress is just a matter of identifying the objective. This is oversimplified of course, but what we can glean from this idea is that knowing what your business is becoming, doing, creating, will facilitate any marketing firm’s efforts to help you reach them.
Marketing, and all life, is about communication. Don’t leave your marketing firm in the dark.
Next week: Objectives and Goals Defined – Is There a Difference?
Thanks,
Mark