How can you overcome unexpected setbacks and delays to meet your marketing deadlines?

I think communication is the key to all long term relationships. In work you want to have a good and clear communication with your clients so they can become long term clients and also give you great reviews so they can recommend you. Have a clear and honest relationship is the key here.

I think that communication, by keeping everyone up to date and monitoring milestones helps manage expectations and goals. This can help to create a sharing and collaborative work environment.

From my experience, acknowledging and communicating issues as soon as they arise can significantly mitigate their impact. It's often tempting to wait until you have a solution before communicating a problem, but alerting stakeholders early allows for more heads to contribute to the solution and prepares everyone for any necessary adjustments.

Communicating clearly or openly with your team and clients – about the good, the bad, and everything in between – is like a magic bridge. It keeps everyone feeling like they're on the same journey, working together to fix things. You share what's happening, they share their ideas, and before you know it, you're all rolling up your sleeves to tackle the bumps in the road. Even if things get a little tough at first, being honest and up-front builds trust like a super-strong glue, making your bond with everyone even stronger when you finally smooth things out. So remember, when the journey gets rough, just open your mouth and start talking! It's the secret weapon that helps everyone reach the finish line together.

One thing I have found useful in my career journey is while it is expected to communicate the success with the team members and seniors, it is equally important to communicate the setbacks. The senior management should be forewarned about any negative or setbacks expected this way team is aligned,communicated and collectively takes measures to lower down the expected risks and setbacks rather than giving shocks once damage is already done and there is no room for rectification

The greatest marketers are agile and can pivot when required. This includes adjusting your plans, even timelines and communicating changes to internal and external stakeholders. Sometimes we want everything to go perfectly, but it’s more common that things don’t go exactly as planned. The most important thing is to learn why things went awry and apply those learnings to future projects. In a past role, we really wanted to hit a certain % of expanded revenue on key accounts within one quarter. We initially planned to target certain verticals. After one quarter we didn’t quite hit our goal. We shifted to other verticals the following quarter and completely crushed it. It was in the “not doing the same thing” that we achieved success.

The toss up for marketers is to figure out what is “good enough”, versus perfection. By making that tweak to your production or output, you might be able to still hit the deadline. A lot of marketing is about timing, so if you lose out on the ideal moment to release an asset, it might not have the desired impact.

Flexible planing might be hard but work the best in my opinion. Then you can adjust your plan according to the customers needs.

Adjusting your plan entails reviewing current strategies, identifying necessary modifications based on new insights or challenges, and prioritizing changes aligned with overarching goals. Engage stakeholders for feedback, communicate revisions transparently, and implement adjustments effectively, ensuring alignment, optimization, and responsiveness to evolving circumstances or objectives.

While it is important to follow the plan it is important to know when to switch the plan if things are not going in sync. Review the project on constant basis ,analyse if something is impacting or not going as per plan and take actions in time. One should not be overwhelmed with the first plan and should always have backup plan.

Be flexible and adaptable. Done is better than perfect. If you have a deadline that cannot be moved (ie a trade show), use it as motivation to get creative. Study marketing from outside your industry. What can you learn from Aviation Gin? Or the Amazon's emotionally gripping holiday commercial? (Search elderly-Amazon-sledding.) Force yourself to rise to the occasion. Solidify your idea quickly and run with it.

Il faut appliquer ses nouvelles réformes le plus tôt possible en tenant compte au maximum des causes d’échecs du plan primitif. Il faut choisir le juste milieu entre proactivité et diligence. La quête de la perfection n’est pas à envisager. Elle pourrait vous faire stagner longtemps sur des taches qui n’auront pas d’impact significatif sur les ventes. La mise en œuvre du nouveau plan doit surtout viser à reconquérir voir satisfaire le maximum des clients impactés.

Once a revised plan is in place, it’s time for action. In KFC's case, they worked closely with new logistics partners to resolve their supply issues. Implementing solutions effectively often requires collaboration tools and a hands-on approach to ensure the plan is executed as revised.

Il faut appliquer ses nouvelles réformes le plus tôt possible en tenant compte au maximum des causes d’échecs du plan primitif. Il faut choisir le juste milieu entre proactivité et diligence. La quête de la perfection n’est pas à envisager. Elle pourrait vous faire stagner longtemps sur des taches qui n’auront pas d’impact significatif sur les ventes. La mise en œuvre du nouveau plan doit surtout viser à reconquérir voir satisfaire le maximum des clients impactés.

Firstly, conduct a swift analysis to identify the root cause of the setback. Prioritize tasks rigorously, focusing on critical elements that directly impact the deadline. Adjust timelines realistically, allowing for unforeseen challenges. Foster transparent communication within your team, ensuring everyone is aware of the situation and can contribute to solutions. If feasible, allocate additional resources to expedite the process. Adaptability is crucial; be prepared to modify strategies swiftly to accommodate unexpected hurdles. Remember, meeting deadlines requires proactive problem-solving and a willingness to adjust plans as needed.

Il est souvent plus simple de tirer des conclusions après coup que dans le feu de l'action donc le plus important est de comprendre ce qui s'est mal passé pour que cela ne se reproduise pas. Il est possible que le problème vienne de l'opérationnelle mais cela peut aussi (et souvent) être du à un management déficient ou à des exécutifs déconnectés de la réalité. Par exemple une mauvaise estimation de l’ampleur/la difficulté de la tache, suivi d’une pression trop forte sur les équipes qui finissent par craquer.

Trial and Error gives you a lot of experience and strength. Keep testing your ideas and take back lessons from the projects that failed. Take more lessons from the projects that did well and understand patterns and good combinations.

According to me when things get bumpy, take a breath and rewind. Learn what tripped you up, fix it, and bam! Smoother sailing next time. It's like turning roadblocks into stepping stones!

Anytime a project has set-backs, it is time for post-mortem. Have internal discussions with your team to learn what cause the problems and figure out ways to avoid the same issues from reoccurring in the future.

Every setback is a learning opportunity. Post-crisis analyses can uncover insights for future preparedness. Books like "The Obstacle Is the Way" by Ryan Holiday offer valuable perspectives on turning challenges into learning opportunities. Reflecting on what worked and what didn’t helps refine future strategies.

As a perfectionist, I have to take extra effort to celebrate my successes. It may be easy to look at all the work that went into meeting the goal and/or how exhausted you feel after unexpected setbacks, but once the work is done, it's bottle popping time! 🍾 Celebrate those wins and consider yourself experienced in overcoming adversity!

Celebrating the victories, is an often overlooked aspects of marketers and business professionals. I make a point of sending an email to the marketing team and the customers upon the successful launch of a website, campaign, new product or event. An email is a very small thing, but I take the time to recognize everybody’s collaborative effort. One other small thing I do to show my team and clients that we are doing good work and it’s all right to celebrate is bringing them a booster juice, coffee, or donuts. Again, this is a small gesture, but having fun and celebrating great work is the best part of marketing and business in general.

Acknowledging the team's effort in overcoming challenges is important. Just as KFC humorously thanked their customers and teams after resolving their crisis, celebrating these victories can boost morale and team cohesion. Simple gestures of recognition or team events can make a big difference.

Pleinement d’accord! Chaque petits pas vers l’objectif est une victoire… Tel le bambou qui se prépare pendant plusieurs mois avant de se montrer le bout du nez.

Apenas para agregar, antes de comemorar o sucesso, precisamos ter certeza que o produto entregue atendeu as expectativas das outras partes envolvidas, só assim podemos buscar a recompensa. Senão podemos superestimar o trabalho e abalar uma relação de parceria.

1. Prioritize Tasks: Identify crucial tasks and focus on them first. 2. Flexible Scheduling: Allow for buffers in your schedule to accommodate delays. 3. Communication: Keep your team informed and collaborate on solutions. 4. Resource Allocation: Assess resources and adjust as needed. 5. Reevaluate Goals: Adjust expectations based on current circumstances. 6. Collaboration: Foster teamwork and delegate tasks effectively. Contingency Plans: Develop backup strategies for critical tasks. 7. Technology Use: Leverage tools for streamlined workflows and collaboration. 8. Continuous Monitoring: Regularly track progress and address issues promptly. 9. Learn from Setbacks: Analyze setbacks for insights to improve processes.

Be prepared in advance and do your homework. Delays are possibly occurred due to pending approvals or the recurring changes in the campaign. It’s always adviced to do a market research before jumping into the execution. Plan your campaign considering the cases that can take place and start with the best case that aligns with your research.

Don't get too worked up about producing the perfect campaign. Ship the B+. This is a tough lesson for any marketer because the quest for "perfection" often consumes us. – Overthinking every email. – Overanalysing every landing page. – Overpolishing every single campaign. Truth is, nothing is ever perfect. It’s never flawless, optimised, and suitable for everyone. It’s simply the best we could have hoped for under the (complex) circumstances. In the long run, we can work to change those circumstances with more research, budget & talent. But today, all we can do is strive to make things better. And to ship the B+ we've been working on. To ship with all the research, feedback loops, and strategic insight we have available TODAY.

Don't go overboard! By that, I mean don't make excessive adjustments to the extent that you end up achieving nothing. Avoid making endless changes to graphics, photos, or content. Additionally, don't make it difficult for the team by being indecisive about the marketing campaign. This way, you won't make progress, and continuous changes may prevent you from accomplishing anything

What I will do ? - I will Prioritise tasks based on urgency and impact, reassess timelines realistically, and communicate transparently with stakeholders about the revised deadlines - Then I will delegate responsibilities where possible, adjust resources or strategies, and be flexible in adapting to unexpected changes to ensure meeting the critical marketing deadlines This is my action what about you ?