Have you noticed a certain impatience with lines and crowded stores? A couple of weeks ago I was making a purchase and saw two people abandon their selections before check out and leave. Are you tempted to abandon virtual shopping carts that take a long time to upload? You are not alone.


We want things now and waiting is not an option, writes the New York Times. In the article, as in the changed expectations, there are multiple lessons for the marketer in you. We take that level of impatience to work with us. Watch out for:
Lesson 1:
The company you work at or work for may not slow down long enough to figure out if what they are doing supports the business strategy. Many companies that have been around a long time, in fact, are run by sales groups or product managers, making the marketers' job challenging. The internal customers want that brochure and they want it, now. Nobody wonders if that is the right tool to accomplish what they seek to achieve.
Lesson 2:
Every resistance is futile. Whenever you try to outline the problem - in some instances blatant lack of process - you get thrown under the bus or run over. Someone else is ready to do it faster, cheaper - better? I have my doubts. The old saw "faster, cheaper, better - pick two" is still alive and well. Between discussing and doing, the wise marketer usually goes for doing. Even when you know that you are doing the wrong thing.
Lesson 3:
Good enough as a habit becomes a lot of half-baked stuff. Plus it puts you in reactive mode constantly. You may be able to get by with flying by the seat of your pants a couple of times here and there, I don't recommend it as a long term strategy. The karma alone will get you. If not, you can count on your customers noticing and letting you know.
Lesson 4:
You end up with an unbalanced diet. As the Times says: "changing the equation isn't so much a matter of throwing out old media as adjusting to hybrid models that enable an infinite inventory on a digital shelf – embracing, rather than trying to control, choice." Taking all your print media placements and putting them online may not make sense for certain B2Bs that still have a good reach on some business or trade publications.
Lesson 5:
You have not given yourself enough time to make what you are doing effective - by establishing success metrics, building on a baseline, knowing how and when you are measuring, and leaving room for the unknown.
When it comes to taking the time to think and plan, we can be the worst offenders. Good things may still come to those who wait. Can you think of other lessons for marketers? I want them, now!