“We need a flyer for next week’s info session!!!!”
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that line over the past two decades, I could retire on an island in the Caribbean. And I’m only half-joking.
Pretty sure we got that same request twice last week alone.
Exclamation points aside, for too long and for too many of us, the reflex to that request is: “Sure. When do you need it? Tuesday? Ok.”
Done? Yes.
Effective? Probably not.
That’s order-taker syndrome and it’s part of the internal agency trap. Your institution treats you like a marketing ATM. Request comes in, work goes out.
Rinse and repeat.
Sure, it feels like you’re providing good customer service and there’s the satisfaction of completing another project, but you’re leaving your greatest asset on the table: your judgment.
Treatments, Not Diagnoses
That’s because people bring you treatments, not diagnoses. And they raise the stakes by using words like “critical,” or “urgent,” or “OMG!!!!”
Thing is, they do need your help. Just not for the solution they picked.
I’ve written about this for years. They don’t do it intentionally. If your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail (or in this case, a flyer).
But you, my lucky marcomms friend, know better. Because you are the proud owner of the Special Edition Norm Abram Deluxe set of Craftsman tools. And you know how to use each and every one.
Ask the questions to get to the root of the problem.
Diagnosis is part of your expertise and squarely in the marcomms function, so use it. I mean you’re gonna do the work anyway, might as well take a beat on the front end to make sure you do it right.
Because speed without clarity creates rework. How many times have you skipped this step only to have to run your content through multiple rounds of updates because you didn’t have the full picture at the start?
And I absolutely loathe rework.
It’s like a vampire that sucks the life out of you and your project. Shedding light on a project before you start has the same effect on rework as it does vampires: you dispel the darkness of ambiguity and drastically reduces the likelihood of losing your soul.
Five Questions Before You Say Yes
Ask these questions before work starts to avoid a bumpy road ahead.
- What are we trying to solve? What’s the actual problem? Engagements? Form fills? Event attendance? Applications? That helps us understand the ask.
- Who’s this for? Be specific. Know your audience and you know the tactics, message, and placement. If you don’t, you usually end up watering down all three.
- What does success look like? This ties back to the problem, only now with something we can turn into a measurable. You need this for how to iterate next time.
- What are the constraints? Everything we do has constraints. What is the time, talent, and treasure available to us to get this project out the door?
- What’s the right level of effort? Is it a quick fix, a solid execution, or a full-blown strategic project? You and the requester might need to work that out together.
Oh! This is a framework you can apply from the smallest of requests up to entire organizational marketing initiatives. The logic scales to fit. Sometimes you might need a fancy-dancy plan, other times a two-minute mental inventory has you up and running.
These elementary questions can be tempting to blow past in the moment.
Don’t do it.
Here’s what asking them looks like in real life: A department needs a flyer for an info session. Signups are way short of the goal, and the last session flopped. The flyer had been printed last time, so a late ask comes in for another flyer. “It should only take like an hour, right?”
Before you knee-jerk to yes, run the five questions. The real problem shows up fast: nobody needs a flyer. They need qualified people in seats, and the people they are trying to reach aren’t going to see a flyer on a bulletin board.
So, no flyer for you! You recommend something else entirely. And it often works.
Isn’t This Being Difficult?
If you don’t decide what you’re optimizing for, something else will decide for you.
And in this case, that something else could be a someone who doesn’t entirely know what they’re asking for.
Sure, you could just accept the request as-is (and maybe sometimes you have to). Just know that every piece of work that goes out the door ultimately has your name on it. And if you wouldn’t sign it as requested, ask the questions so you understand the real ask. Then when your work does ship, you’re cool owning it.
Clarity protects speed. Getting the full picture at the start reduces rework, helps set the right effort, and makes pushback professional and not personal.
Learn How to Do the Right Work on Friday
I’m diving deeper into smart project intake and defining signals at my webinar, Do the Right Work to Do the Work Right this Friday, Oct 30 at 2pm Central.
Start your Halloween weekend off a little early and treat yourself to some cool tricks you can take into your next project.
