Life Is An Experiment (And So Is Marketing)

A Halloween “Experiment”. No mom was hurt in the taking of this picture.

It’s All Under Control

Once in awhile we have the illusion we have it all under control. Those are days when the car is clean at the same time the kids aren’t fighting at the same time work went well. In this aligning of the stars, there is a healthy dinner on the table, your spouse had a great day, no pets threw up and there’s no bat poop on your front porch from the critter who hangs there at night. You can walk down the hallway without hurdling a pile of laundry like a high school track star, because it’s all folded and in drawers that managed to close. And, while I’m dreaming, your abs are toned and you’ve managed to go on a flossing binge. Life is good.

Until It Isn’t

But most days aren’t like that. Life is an experiment. And like experiments, we try things to see what happens. Some days it doesn’t turn out how we hoped. Some days the ingredients are measured wrong or the reaction was much bigger than expected. Sometimes the catalyst is missing. Sometimes the whole thing just blows up and makes a mess everywhere. We can’t control all the factors, and that’s life.

Be The Change

So how do we manage through this uncertainty? What mindset adjustments are needed?

If we think we have no chance to influence our own lives, then we hold tight to the current settings and let the storm swirl around us, hoping it will pass in due time. This is temporarily comforting, until we realize in the aftermath what we were holding onto no longer exists.

Or, we can tweak the metaphorical dials of our days. We can change a variable and see what happens. We can embrace the chaos and make some of our own. We can be curious and observational and open to new discoveries.

Marketing Is Not Perfect (I know, I know, I was surprised, too.)

I made a new friend recently, which is exciting as a grown up. She’s a life coach (and an engineer and supply-chain guru). I admire her dedication and journey to truly help people transform the way they manage their life experiments. She has a process to reduce the effect of work and life chaos and help high-performing people feel calmer and more in control. I’m lucky enough to be helping her with some marketing, and we discussed that marketing is also an experiment.

In today’s digital world, we put things out into the world and hope for a certain response. Although we have tons of data to help guide decisions, we don’t always get what we want. Sometimes it’s crickets, and sometimes it’s so much more than we expected. I find it interesting when there is a strong response to something you hadn’t expected (either good or bad). That’s a new discovery, and we learn. As marketers, we look for patterns. Even if we have access to all the algorithms and AI, there are no guarantees, just trying, analyzing, adjusting and trying again. Not every single ad I’m fed is perfect. Also, who could have predicted the viral sensations of the “I’m not a cat” lawyer Zoom guy or the guy with the “sanitize and work those thighs” Covid exercise video? The thing about marketing is it doesn’t have to be perfect. Make an educated decision and be ready to adjust.

The Experiment Is The Control

I’m not a life coach. I just know one. But I am a marketer, an engineer and a human, and I think the experiment is the control, whether it’s life, marketing or raising boys. Discovery is the state of being that allows us to have control. We are in a world that is constantly changing. We can find peace in the chaos by accepting change, designing our own experiments, making decisions, being curious, leading innovation and giving ourselves credit for trying when it goes wrong or right. Enjoy the ride and don’t be afraid to turn the dial.

If you want to talk to an actual life coach, check out www.aliciabenson.com.