6 lessons from the series The Walking Dead for the effectiveness of your marketing team
- Transfer
For decades, people have been taking leadership examples and studying life from films. From sports and military films to detectives and comedies, we see characters who make serious decisions, lead their teams to victory and support them during defeats.
In apocalyptic stories you can often see very interesting and dynamic heroes. In order to survive in such circumstances, they often learn such important lessons that we do not think about and do not encounter in our daily lives. Depriving the characters of films of modern comfort and social security, you can quickly see who they really are, as individuals.
And although the office does not need to make decisions on which life depends, we can learn valuable lessons from the decisions that these characters make.
Walking Dead fans like me already know that season 6 has finally arrived. To celebrate this, I found 6 lessons that marketing team leaders can take from the film and apply in their work.
“You are not safe. It doesn’t matter if there are a lot of people around, or is it a deserted place. No matter what they say, no matter what they think. You are not safe. It takes only a moment. A moment, and it's over. Never lose your vigilance. Never. I want you to promise me that. ” Rick Grimes, Season 5.
You ask what this has to do with marketing. Replace “you” with “pages of your site” and the word “security” with “body armor”. Your web pages are not body armor.
When Rick said these words to his son Karl, they had been living for almost 2 years surrounded by zombies (or “walkers,” as they are also called in the film). Obviously, Karl already knew about this dangerous and changeable world, but it was important to remember that the situation could change at any moment.
Although it may be more than a second for your successful web page to change, only one factor can lead to this.
The initial test can determine the solution that worked best, say, in March, but the circumstances have changed, the audience has become smarter, and the market has become feverish. Accordingly, the performance of your page has changed due to these factors.
Continuous testing shows how your landing pages, registration processes, email, etc.
“Get out of the farm now!” Maggie, she's lost! ” Glenn Rhee, Season 2
This lesson is in tune with the previous one. Sometimes it’s easier for people in a company to say, “We always did this,” or “That's all we know.” However, the marketing industry is changing, especially in technology and customer expectations. You must be prepared to adapt to new processes, new applications and sometimes even new products.
This means that you must also be ready to get rid of the usual ideas.
For almost three months in the film, Maggie and her family were able to survive at the beginning of the destruction of the world and the attacks of the zombies on the farm. The ability to stay in the familiar surroundings - in a childhood home - helped to survive in this crazy world.
How often do we stick to a design or message on a landing page, especially if that’s all we know or when we developed this page ourselves?
Testing is the only way to improve conversion. You can clearly say, "This new option works at X% better than the previous one."
When it comes time to get rid of obsolete products or pages, it is important to remember that this is done, first of all, for customers. Your products, web pages and email should serve their needs, this is where success awaits you.
“How many walkers did you kill?” How many people did you kill? Why?" Rick Grimes, Season 4
Building a team is the key to success, it doesn't matter if you are in the zombie world or among American entrepreneurs. Even if a person has the right skills, he will not necessarily be the member of the team that you need.
For Rick, the answers to these questions were very important when he selected new associates for himself. The first two questions could be answered for a long time, and the question “why” plunges them into the context of the situation, draws a real portrait of these people and what they could give the team.
Do you have a list of questions that will help you win the favor of a potential team member? What key quality are you looking for in an employee? If you select an employee who is not suitable not only for corporate culture, but for a team atmosphere, then you run the risk of encountering problems in future work.
For example, your team spends a lot of time discussing the project and gradually executes it. An independent person who is accustomed to lead the entire project from design to implementation on his own may simply not fit into the work of your team.
As a team leader, you must identify the key qualities of the candidate and structure the interview in such a way as to identify these qualities and decide if it suits you. If you hire people without a clear goal, you will not be able to assemble a wonderful puzzle, because its parts may not fit together.
“Today we’ll talk about knives. How to own them, how to be safe with them, and how they can save your life. ”Carol Peletier, Season 4
After Carol lost her daughter in Season 2, she did not see the benefit of the constant care of the children. Unforeseen situations and emergencies can force children to protect themselves. They cannot do this without proper training.
As well as your team needs training to overcome various unplanned situations and increased load. Cross-training of your team protects the health and well-being of your team, department and company.
It is dangerous to have a specialist who has only one knowledge of certain processes. If such employees leave the company or become ill, what will you do in this case?
However, cross-training provides more benefits than just the ability to survive without interruption. According to an article published in Forbes, such training contributes to the professional development of employees, increases the effectiveness of the team and teamwork. Understanding the different roles in the team allows employees to see a wider picture of how the team works for the overall result.
Lori: "Are you a doctor?"
Hershel: “Yes, ma'am, of course. Vet. "
Lori: "Veteran? Military doctor?"
Hershel: "Veterinarian." Season 2
When Carl was accidentally shot down by a deer hunter, luck was on his side. Hershel, who lived on the farm, was a veterinarian before a zombie attack. Of course, he was not trained in the treatment of bullet wounds in humans, but the general knowledge was the same.
When teams are small and budgets are modest, you have to think about how to apply different skills. Marketers often fulfill different roles in large and small companies, in commercial and non-profit enterprises.
At the center of all this is knowing your customers and understanding their needs, which you can also use in other areas of marketing. You can only have the experience of email marketing, but you can also apply these skills in copywriting and the ability to tell stories in other media - from social. networks to landing pages.
Even if you do not work in a company where a handyman is required, you still need to know and apply all the technologies that modern marketing relies on. Only 10 years ago there was no SMM specialist. However, communication technologies between people and companies are changing. If you cannot adapt to these changes, you will quickly find yourself on the sidelines.
“We are friends with a girl with a sword and a guy in a hat”
Carol Peletier, Season 5
“Archer. I respect that. If you see a man with a rifle, then most likely he was a photographer or a football coach in the past. But an archer is a real archer. ”
Joe, Season 4
Michonne is known as the “Maiden with the Sword,” and Daryl is the archer. In a world where weapons are worth their weight in gold, owning a bow or sword is a great advantage. You cannot use bullets several times; if they fly away, then they fly away irrevocably.
Arrows can be reused if you have time to pick them up. The sword is a self-sufficient weapon.
Using modern technology is quite easy.
At the same time, if you do not have the correct message to your customers or you do not understand their needs, you will shoot blank cartridges.
Suppose you want to write a message and share a post. There are many formats that you can use. Do you use a mobile application or other fashionable software? Or maybe the information in the old-fashioned PDF format will be more effective for your audience?
Sometimes the basic tools are the best. It's all about understanding your audience.
In apocalyptic stories you can often see very interesting and dynamic heroes. In order to survive in such circumstances, they often learn such important lessons that we do not think about and do not encounter in our daily lives. Depriving the characters of films of modern comfort and social security, you can quickly see who they really are, as individuals.
And although the office does not need to make decisions on which life depends, we can learn valuable lessons from the decisions that these characters make.
Walking Dead fans like me already know that season 6 has finally arrived. To celebrate this, I found 6 lessons that marketing team leaders can take from the film and apply in their work.
Lesson number 1. Stay alert (and continue testing)
“You are not safe. It doesn’t matter if there are a lot of people around, or is it a deserted place. No matter what they say, no matter what they think. You are not safe. It takes only a moment. A moment, and it's over. Never lose your vigilance. Never. I want you to promise me that. ” Rick Grimes, Season 5.
You ask what this has to do with marketing. Replace “you” with “pages of your site” and the word “security” with “body armor”. Your web pages are not body armor.
When Rick said these words to his son Karl, they had been living for almost 2 years surrounded by zombies (or “walkers,” as they are also called in the film). Obviously, Karl already knew about this dangerous and changeable world, but it was important to remember that the situation could change at any moment.
Although it may be more than a second for your successful web page to change, only one factor can lead to this.
The initial test can determine the solution that worked best, say, in March, but the circumstances have changed, the audience has become smarter, and the market has become feverish. Accordingly, the performance of your page has changed due to these factors.
Continuous testing shows how your landing pages, registration processes, email, etc.
Lesson number 2. Get ready to get rid of outdated ideas.
“Get out of the farm now!” Maggie, she's lost! ” Glenn Rhee, Season 2
This lesson is in tune with the previous one. Sometimes it’s easier for people in a company to say, “We always did this,” or “That's all we know.” However, the marketing industry is changing, especially in technology and customer expectations. You must be prepared to adapt to new processes, new applications and sometimes even new products.
This means that you must also be ready to get rid of the usual ideas.
For almost three months in the film, Maggie and her family were able to survive at the beginning of the destruction of the world and the attacks of the zombies on the farm. The ability to stay in the familiar surroundings - in a childhood home - helped to survive in this crazy world.
How often do we stick to a design or message on a landing page, especially if that’s all we know or when we developed this page ourselves?
Testing is the only way to improve conversion. You can clearly say, "This new option works at X% better than the previous one."
When it comes time to get rid of obsolete products or pages, it is important to remember that this is done, first of all, for customers. Your products, web pages and email should serve their needs, this is where success awaits you.
Lesson number 3. Keep your goal in your team.
“How many walkers did you kill?” How many people did you kill? Why?" Rick Grimes, Season 4
Building a team is the key to success, it doesn't matter if you are in the zombie world or among American entrepreneurs. Even if a person has the right skills, he will not necessarily be the member of the team that you need.
For Rick, the answers to these questions were very important when he selected new associates for himself. The first two questions could be answered for a long time, and the question “why” plunges them into the context of the situation, draws a real portrait of these people and what they could give the team.
Do you have a list of questions that will help you win the favor of a potential team member? What key quality are you looking for in an employee? If you select an employee who is not suitable not only for corporate culture, but for a team atmosphere, then you run the risk of encountering problems in future work.
For example, your team spends a lot of time discussing the project and gradually executes it. An independent person who is accustomed to lead the entire project from design to implementation on his own may simply not fit into the work of your team.
As a team leader, you must identify the key qualities of the candidate and structure the interview in such a way as to identify these qualities and decide if it suits you. If you hire people without a clear goal, you will not be able to assemble a wonderful puzzle, because its parts may not fit together.
Lesson number 4. Prepare your team for unforeseen situations
“Today we’ll talk about knives. How to own them, how to be safe with them, and how they can save your life. ”Carol Peletier, Season 4
After Carol lost her daughter in Season 2, she did not see the benefit of the constant care of the children. Unforeseen situations and emergencies can force children to protect themselves. They cannot do this without proper training.
As well as your team needs training to overcome various unplanned situations and increased load. Cross-training of your team protects the health and well-being of your team, department and company.
It is dangerous to have a specialist who has only one knowledge of certain processes. If such employees leave the company or become ill, what will you do in this case?
However, cross-training provides more benefits than just the ability to survive without interruption. According to an article published in Forbes, such training contributes to the professional development of employees, increases the effectiveness of the team and teamwork. Understanding the different roles in the team allows employees to see a wider picture of how the team works for the overall result.
Lesson number 5. Be universal
Lori: "Are you a doctor?"
Hershel: “Yes, ma'am, of course. Vet. "
Lori: "Veteran? Military doctor?"
Hershel: "Veterinarian." Season 2
When Carl was accidentally shot down by a deer hunter, luck was on his side. Hershel, who lived on the farm, was a veterinarian before a zombie attack. Of course, he was not trained in the treatment of bullet wounds in humans, but the general knowledge was the same.
When teams are small and budgets are modest, you have to think about how to apply different skills. Marketers often fulfill different roles in large and small companies, in commercial and non-profit enterprises.
At the center of all this is knowing your customers and understanding their needs, which you can also use in other areas of marketing. You can only have the experience of email marketing, but you can also apply these skills in copywriting and the ability to tell stories in other media - from social. networks to landing pages.
Even if you do not work in a company where a handyman is required, you still need to know and apply all the technologies that modern marketing relies on. Only 10 years ago there was no SMM specialist. However, communication technologies between people and companies are changing. If you cannot adapt to these changes, you will quickly find yourself on the sidelines.
Lesson number 6. Basic things can be effective
“We are friends with a girl with a sword and a guy in a hat”
Carol Peletier, Season 5
“Archer. I respect that. If you see a man with a rifle, then most likely he was a photographer or a football coach in the past. But an archer is a real archer. ”
Joe, Season 4
Michonne is known as the “Maiden with the Sword,” and Daryl is the archer. In a world where weapons are worth their weight in gold, owning a bow or sword is a great advantage. You cannot use bullets several times; if they fly away, then they fly away irrevocably.
Arrows can be reused if you have time to pick them up. The sword is a self-sufficient weapon.
Using modern technology is quite easy.
At the same time, if you do not have the correct message to your customers or you do not understand their needs, you will shoot blank cartridges.
Suppose you want to write a message and share a post. There are many formats that you can use. Do you use a mobile application or other fashionable software? Or maybe the information in the old-fashioned PDF format will be more effective for your audience?
Sometimes the basic tools are the best. It's all about understanding your audience.