• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, March 8, 2006

While sitting down to write my article for this week, I realized I just had to share an experience from last week: one that that you have to hear to believe, and one that you should hear so you don't make the same mistake.

I was speaking on a small panel last Thursday at the New Communications Forum in Palo Alto, Calif., discussing the topic of user-generated content as a marketing tool. We debated its merits and we discussed the ways that advertisers can work with the consumer to evangelize their brands on their behalf, and then we opened the panel up for questions.

One gentleman who appeared very knowledgable and articulate said, "I have a client who is doing very well. They're meeting and exceeding their sales goals, they're showing positive growth quarter over quarter and they're adamant about not trying user-generated content or any other emerging media formats, because they believe this will hurt their prosperity. Then he asked, "I was wondering if you have any case studies about how trying new ideas and testing new concepts actually helped a prospering business, or why they shouldn't stick to the same old thing."

My response was short and simple. "I suggest you write a case study tracking the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. They prospered for quite some time--and look where they are now."

I received some laughs, which was of course the intended result, but I felt the laughs overshadowed a larger issue here--which was that a client was basically saying to his agency, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Now there's a brilliant idea!

When your company is prospering, and things are looking great, is the BEST time to test out new ideas, because you have the wiggle room and you've been awarded the respect and trust to take risks. When you're driving successful results, you should always be testing something new for further down the road because, inevitably, things are going to change.

We all have to remember that business is cyclical. Things may be riding high, but they're going to take a turn eventually. Outside factors are always trying to slow growth. It's the simple model of homeostasis that attempts to maintain internal equilibrium. It happens in organisms and it happens in business--and in the case of Rome, it happens in societies. Your competition is always going to heat up. Someone else is going to come along with a better idea. Your product will reach saturation. There are always factors that will drive your results down, because the laws of nature try to maintain equilibrium in competition--so the time when you're flying high and things are great, is the best time to take some calculated risks!

What that means is up for debate, but let me propose one idea. When you're allocating budgets, always allocate 10 percent towards testing. Test things that are "out-of-the-box" or "off-the-wall" or whatever other cliché you feel is appropriate. And allocate a percentage of your best employees to work on that 10 percent. We have a tendency to put our strongest minds towards problem-solving, when what we should be doing is allocating our strongest minds towards the future. These are the folks who can put two and two together to make five, so let them.

I know it sounds elementary in this context, but go back and evaluate your current spending and see if you can identify the tests. Can you identify the dollars that have been allocated towards the stranger, more progressive ideas? If not, then read a case study on the fall of Rome and get back to us when you have a chance.