Avoiding the Pitfalls of Reactive Marketing (Article 3 of 3)

With digital disruption, marketing teams are now practicing agile or reactive marketing. Company leaders love the idea of "going viral" but must remain grounded in strategy and purpose when deciding direction, as getting it wrong can be damaging to their brand. To react well, teams must know what to react to, taking into account the audience, what they like, the risks, and whether it is worth dropping other strategic priorities.

An example of reactive marketing done right is the story of an IT-hosting provider in the healthcare sector that responded to news of ransomware attacks with a good solution. The team had a strategy for how to do so, but also had other marketing tactics to complete within a set time and budget. The outcome was a successful acquisition by a larger hosting provider.

Reactive marketing can be beneficial when done correctly. Companies must have clarity on their audience, what they like, why it is important to react, how effective it will be, and their tolerance for risk. Additionally, a plan for creating valuable content that adds long-term value and positions the company as forward-thinking is beneficial.