Operating with Uncertainty

Regardless, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, cautions that geopolitical risks remain a looming threat. When Jamie Dimon talks, everyone listens. Uncertainty remains center stage in what is now described as a BANI world: an acronym that describes how brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible our world is today.

What are business and marketing leaders to do?

There's little doubt that uncertainty fuels the need to proceed by taking carefully calculated risks. It also means paying close attention and staying flexible. This translates into encouraging collaboration, expanding input from a chorus of internal and external voices, and operating with a wide lens to be open to new ideas and possibilities. Keith Myers, CMO of Transportation Solutions at TE Connectivity writes about this in Leadership in a BANI World. One of the tenets of BANI is that in an uncertain world, there are opportunities to be found.

Marketers must also keep their eyes on the prize and not lose their mojo. If uncertainty makes you hold off on the next big product push or campaign, consider focusing on key fundamentals that help gain market clarity and create heightened differentiation. Here are three examples:

• Re-invest in identifying and knowing your customers to better create segmentation strategies and go-to-market plans: If you think you know your customers, what they do, and when they do it, you may need to think again.
  
  Rapid technology advancements are disrupting the landscape, changing roles, introducing new players, and potentially making long-standing customers less core to your business. The engagement strategies that have previously worked to reach customers at various points on their journey may not be as effective anymore.
  
  Voice of the Customer research, particularly through one-on-one interviews, surgically identifies a range of nuances across players and workflows. Getting an update on customer needs and new directions is invaluable and a way to create more certainty in an uncertain world.


• Build your branding on strong visual and verbal messaging: Earlier this year, I wrote "2024: Welcome to the Creator Era" detailing why creative differentiation is still needed to stand out in a sea of homogeneity and pablum. My friends at Leach Advisors recently tackled this differentiation issue in their article "Is Brand Identity Losing its Purpose?" As they point out, the emphasis on "blanding" – the effort to simplify corporate brand identity using minimalist design approaches to optimize UX across digital media – has sacrificed distinctiveness.
  
  Overcoming the limitations of "sameness" requires a commitment to creativity, including smart design and brilliant storytelling that speaks to brand vision and purpose. The adage remains true: it’s the great creative that customers remember. Daring to make your brand stand out, as long as it's authentic, can deliver clear rewards. It’s a compelling way to help wash away any uncertainty your customers may have about your brand and turn them into believers.


• Maximize your Martech stack to optimize your data-driven, analytics: With automation and lead-generation core to marketing efforts, ensure your Martech stack is sufficiently integrated and be sure your teams know how to generate analytics and interpret their meaning. If something is missing in that analysis, whether it's related to email marketing, social media management, search engine optimization, or beyond, consider adding tools to get the results you're looking for.
  
  There is a wide variety of options, from which to choose based on your Martech requirements. This Hubspot blog is a helpful overview for identifying needs and looking at solutions. Taking control of your Martech investments and what they can produce is another way to deliver some certainty into marketing activities.

We can count on uncertainty in our personal lives too.

In mid-August, Jake Wengroff, my friend and colleague who helped me form MJ Lilly Associates, died unexpectedly. We worked together for more than 25 years, and he often contributed to these Insights. Jake was among the smartest, funniest, and most intellectually curious people I ever knew, and a bundle of unbridled positive energy.

Jake was rarely sick and full of life, which made his passing from natural causes a painful, numbing shock. It’s an unfathomable loss for the many of us whom he touched, and I thank everyone who kindly reached out with their condolences.

The one thing Jake always professed is that you can never be sure of anything. Everything is uncertain.

So once again, Jake is a contributor to this Insight, reminding us that it’s important to make everyday matter, even as uncertainty looms. We must do this in business, and our lives as well.

This Insight was prepared by Maria Lilly. As always, comments and feedback are welcomed.