Changes

I don’t know how you feel about change, but my feelings on the subject are mixed. Dictionary.com seems to share my view. Look up the word “change” and you get 38 entries.

Given my love of grammar, I’ll give you a few of my favorite definitions by part of speech:

• As a verb, change can mean to alter course, to transform, or to exchange one thing for another.
• As a noun, change can be the passing from one place to another.
• As an idiom, we say an object “changed hands,” or a person “changed her mind.”

Of the 38 entries, all shared a common thread. Each one expressed a sense of something new and different.

While “new” can be exciting, it’s not always easy – especially when it comes to overhauling your messaging or communications strategy. Perhaps your campaign has saturated the market and you need a fresh approach. Or, maybe the research results came in and your messaging isn’t resonating with your target audience the way you hoped. Yet another possibility – you may be operating in an economic climate that requires marketing your product or service in a whole new way. Whatever the reason, you’ve realized it’s time for a change.

I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all recipe for transitions, but I certainly think there are some common points to consider.

Think it through. Is a complete overhaul necessary, or will tweaks here and there do the trick?

Do your research. You’ll need to know what’s working and what isn’t before you can make revisions. You may need to commission a study or focus group, or you may be able to check resources at hand. Use Google Analytics to measure Web site performance, or run a quick Google search to find out what people are – or aren’t – saying about your company, product or service.

Make a plan. Once you’ve decided what areas to refresh, plan your implementation. What steps will you need to take? Who, when and how will you execute these steps? Include measurable goals so you can evaluate your success.

Evaluate. Remember those measureable goals I just mentioned? Here’s where they come into play. Check the progress of your results. Hopefully you’ll find the changes were for the better.

Why is change on my mind you ask? Because this is my last PeRceptions post. It’s with mixed feelings that I make a change and move on to a new opportunity. I’ll sincerely miss my amazing colleagues here at Cookerly, and will be hard-pressed to find another group of such talented, hard-working people. I’m very lucky to have shared their ranks, and wish them all the best.