Tim Brown, CEO at IDEO posted on LinkedIn today: “Instead of accepting a given (design) constraint, ask whether this is the right problem to be solving.” Constraint? It sounds so… confining. It got me thinking about how constraint is construed as a bad thing. We want the world and we want it now—no constraints.
I’ve encountered the small business person who has “unconstrained” desires for their website and marketing. Either through coaching or reading the latest business news they’ve “must do it all” outlook and created an extensive laundry list of “wants” for their business website. They’ve created an assumption that they need it all– webinars, video, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, a shopping cart, a blog, an e-newsletter, affiliate marketing, coupons, downloads, etc. I’m exhausted just reading the list, so it’s not surprising that most entrepreneurs don’t have the time nor do they have the budget to throw at all these activities.
Internet constraint doesn’t have to mean that your hands are tied. How on earth can a small business create a laser focus on their business when they’re Tweeting, blogging, building boards, friending, sharing, journaling, in addition to their core business duties. Imagine a corral that holds Internet marketing strategies in an open, manageable space. It’s human nature—what we can see gets more attention. What we can handle in bite-sized efforts gets more attention. If you concentrate your efforts and pay more attention to choice internet marketing strategies, wouldn’t expect to see better results?
Tim Brown is right – know what you’re trying to solve. My recommendation is to ask yourself what you’re trying to solve with your web efforts. There are many useful Internet tools– Knowing which tool to apply to which problem saves time, talent, and money.
EXTRA: Top 10 Problems That Can Be Solved By Online Marketing.
10. Stay in touch with past customers.
9. Increase awareness of new products.
8. Make a sale online.
7. Connect with potential new business.
6. Provide service or product use information to users.
5. Demonstrate a service or product.
4. Alert consumers to changes..
3. Promote awareness of a service or product.
2. Create community by connecting service or product users with other users.
1. Develop position that you or your business as an “in the know” trend-setter.
