Last month, a board member at one of my clients complemented my marketing presentation as the best one he has ever seen in his time on the board.  Another board member mentioned he usually has a critique but I hit his concerns on the head, so he was happy.  It was a great feeling because I felt that I had found the “Bright Spots” in the marketing results.

According to authors, Chip Heath and Dan Heath of Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, the best way to get results is to find the bright spots and find a way to mirror them.  The usual way to try to embed change is to use punitive means or box in behavior.  The Heaths look for the patterns that bring about the desired behavior and use those to change behavior with positive results. Athletes do it all the time in terms of mirroring other successful athletes to improve their performance.

While you might have just updated last year’s plan, updated themes, changed a couple things and added in the new goals, take another look.  What marketing efforts brought the best results for last year and ask yourself three questions:

• Where were the bright spots last year that I can replicate this year and show good results?  
• What marketing ideas or elements got the staff excited and motivated?
• Were there any great stories that staff mentioned about members/customers being helped that really made difference?

Focus in on those marketing elements that resonate with the value of your brand for members/customers and staff members.  Then, when you see results, report them to management or your board with excitement, using the numbers to support the direction you are taking!