Mindful or Mind Full? Tips For Marketers

I have been trying to practice mindfulness for quite some time now.

Now, I haven’t exactly reached the kind of Zen I’d ideally want to, I don't meditate every day, and I'm not great at yoga (although I can pull off a decent sun salutation).?Nevertheless, I am someone who interprets mindfulness in her own way and tries to integrate its basic principles into her life - I’m sure many of you can relate to this.

What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the essential human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's happening around us.*???

So, what are the basic principles of mindfulness? To me, it is the below:?

1. Be in the present moment:?Do not overthink the past or feel nervous about the future. Instead, try to focus on what you are doing right at this very moment.???
2. Breathe:?Always use your breath as your anchor when you are distracted. Your breath is one of the most powerful tools in your toolbox - use it to your benefit.
3. Don't judge:?Whenever you get caught up with thoughts about the past or the future, the plans or scenarios that you may have pictured differently, or anything else that bothers you, watch your thoughts come and go with curiosity, but don't judge them. Let them pass you by like the clouds above your head.????

I've worked?hard to make mindfulness a "habit" rather than a random wish on my new year's resolution list, and I've started to implement it in all aspects of my life. So, for me, it's not just about reminding myself to "spend quality time with my child after work," or "eat more veggies", but a deeper sense of achieving mindfulness almost effortlessly.?

And for this to happen, we need to implement it into our jobs along with our personal lives. Because I work in marketing, let's talk about how we can incorporate mindfulness in marketing "mindfully."????

First, like Simon Sinek suggests, let's start with the "WHY?".?????

Why do we do certain tasks in marketing? Chances are that the answers are one (or more) of the below:?

• We have the budget, so why not???
• Our vendor is funding it, so why not???
• If I don't do it, I will look dormant.??
• The team thinks we should do it because they have a new offering they want to promote.??
• I have specific KPIs, so I better start filling that marketing calendar.?
• You decide – it can be any excuse to run a glittery, glossy marketing campaign.????

If the reason behind executing our marketing activities is to grow our business, shouldn't we focus on delivering value to our target audience rather than emphasize on utilizing the budget, overmarketing the product, or pleasing the internal stakeholders?????

We know that marketers play an essential part in connecting brands with target audiences and helping their clients grow their businesses. But if the only motive behind investing all this time, effort, and money is any of the reasons listed above, maybe we are doing our marketing jobs just for the sake of it and not really to deliver value to our target audience - well, that sounds sad.????

So, isn't it worth pausing for a moment and reflecting on the three basic principles of mindfulness and how it applies here, too??

1. Be in the present moment:?We run from campaign to campaign like there's no tomorrow. What are we really doing at this moment? Juggling between several campaigns, yes, but how valuable is the output going to be? Are these outcomes going to make a difference in your customers' lives, or will they go unnoticed??????
2. Breathe:?Let's slow down for a while and catch our breaths. Before rolling up our sleeves and calling up the agencies for proposals, let's clear our minds and visualize the outcome. Ask yourselves: "What do we want to achieve with this campaign?" It might seem obvious to you at times, but hey, I've seen many successful campaigns (where the marketing team generated tons of leads) go straight into a black hole and get lost there because the presales/sales teams took no action. So yes, slow down, and repeat after me: “What-do-we-want-to-achieve-with-this-campaign?”????
3. Don't judge:?…or in this case, don't judge marketing campaigns based purely on your ideas, because a marketing activity or an idea that seems amazing to you might not be in line with what your customer needs. So, remember that sometimes we need to leave our ego aside (yes, we sometimes tend to think we know best) and try to pay more attention to the customer’s needs.???

One of the best ways to start marketing mindfully is to start by identifying?SMART goals. What are these, you ask? Let's go back in time and open our university textbooks for a little refresher on SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based

I'm not going to lecture you on the detailed benefits of SMART goals (here's one of the several good resources you can check) but sitting down and writing those goals will mean that you're already being mindful about your marketing strategy, your budget, your resources, and the outcomes, so kudos to you if you’re doing that!????

That’s all for now folks, but I will be sharing more about mindful marketing in Part 2 of this series, so stay tuned.?????

Until then, stay in the present moment, breathe, and stay curious!????

-Irmak

* https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/