Facing Fallbacks: What to do when…

Written by: Kevin Holmes

In business there are fallbacks. Whether it is a fallback from a change in job, client-relationship, 

work-life, or anything else, we have all faced some sort of fallback from one time or another. As a  business owner, there are multiple things that I check on a weekly basis to make sure we are in the area where we need to be. The goal of the review is to make sure all of the timelines, projects and clients are where they need to be and not falling behind.

After the review of your weekly or monthly findings, you see things aren’t going as planned. What do you do? Do you wait until next month or week to see if things are still going downward or do you schedule a meeting with your team to go through your initiatives? 

Before we go into what to do, let me first give you something to think about. Fallbacks are bound to happen. In business, things go up and things go down. There is a season(literally and figuratively) for everything so don’t panic. Your team is most likely doing the best they can and other factors are weighing on why your outcomes are the way they are. Let’s start with digital marketing fallbacks. 

Tip #1: When facing a fallback in Digital Marketing, (analytics, trends, metrics, etc.) what do you do?

First, talk to the team member in charge. Odds are they can explain to you what’s happening in the digital world that could cause digital marketing analytics to waver. Second, don’t jump to assumptions. When you assume the worst that usually puts you in a bad place to receive information about what’s actually happening. Lastly, trust that your team knows that things are wavering and if it were as bad as you might think it is, they would come to you and propose a new direction to go in. Now, that doesn’t mean if you have concerns that you shouldn’t bring it to your team. You should absolutely do that. But just remember that their job is to oversee and analyze those metrics so they should be on top of it!

Tip #2: When facing a fallback in new client projects,(meaning, no new clients have inquired about your business or started to invest in your company) what do you do?

This can be a tough pill to swallow. Here’s the thing, you’re not always going to get exactly what you expected. Sometimes you might get more or sometimes you might get less. So, with that in mind, how do we ever know what or when to be upset? Well, your goal should still be reviewed and analyzed. What could we do better and why is this not working. Don’t just review the fact that new clients aren’t coming in. Review your initiatives and how you’re trying to reach them. Go from there and see if there is a place to start and discover new ways to get new clients.

Tip #3: When Facing a Business Fallback(ie. Lost client, lost an employee, or lost business)

This is a hard transition for anyone and any business. For good or bad, things happen for a reason. Now, there is a responsibility to be taken for certain things such as: how you respond to these situations and if the situation occurred due to something you did. To start, you have control over how you respond to good and bad situations. You can act professionally and keep the conversation appropriate and respectful or it can go the other direction. Losing a client can hurt your business and your team. Relationships form and people get used to how things are done. If a client leaves(regardless of the situation) make sure to support your team and be there for consolation. If you lose an employee, be aware of the current relationships that your team may still have with that employee. Respect that they did work for you and respect your current team members as they transition from having an extra arm to work with to have one removed. Either way, for a good reason or a bad reason, when an employee leaves it can cause hurt and disruption in the workplace so just be considerate to that. The lost business will obviously affect everyone in the business. Be aware of that and respect that people are going to want to talk to you and they will need to deal with what happens next. Remember the best outcome usually starts with having appropriate, respectful, and open communication. 

Fallbacks are called fallbacks for a reason. They usually set you back! If they were a positive thing they would probably be called fall forward. But they aren’t. So, just remember when you are facing a business fallback to take a breath, rely on your team and what you and they know to get you through it. 

Here’s to hoping we all get through fallbacks with minimal damage and a lot of positive improvement!

Kevin Holmes is an owner and the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Holmes Marketing Services. He is passionate about giving Holmes clients the best possible experience and exceeding expectations. To discuss how to make your marketing work for you, or to learn more about Holmes, you can contact Kevin at kevin@thinkholmes.com.