Be like Sir Alex and keep pushing forward in business
Online Marketing Surgery
It’s been five and a half years since the greatest football manager of all time left the dugout – but his philosophy of staying abreast of new techniques and shaking up his assets every few years still rings true today.
Former Manchester United chief Sir Alex Ferguson was famed for rebuilding winning squads every couple of years.
Reputations meant nothing to the fiery Scot.
It didn’t matter if you had a glittering trophy cabinet or had won world honours.
If you didn’t fit his plans for the coming season he had no qualms about showing you the door at Old Trafford. Sir Alex was undoubtedly a winner.
He was always searching for the next trophy and plotting the next big win.
The former Aberdeen boss simply refused to stand still and rest on his laurels.
When Arsene Wenger arrived and beat United to the title in 1998, the Red Devils regrouped and won the Treble the following season.
In 2004 Sir Alex faced a new challenge from Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
The Blues claimed back-to-back titles before United regained their grip on the trophy and they held on to it for the next three years.
And even when the sheiks arrived at their neighbours Manchester City, United refused to bow down without a fight, regaining the title in 2013 after losing it on the final day 12 months earlier.
Now, you may be wondering why a director of an online marketing agency is talking about a former, albeit great, football manager.
Well Sir Alex was right. You can never stand still. Not in football, not in life and certainly not in the digital marketing world.
When you are the best, everyone wants to catch you.
You are the bar that everyone has their heart set on meeting and beating.
They can learn from your tactics, they can master your techniques and, if you take your eye off the ball, they will eventually overtake you.
That’s why you have to keep pushing forward, investing in new techniques, keeping up with the latest trends and technology and being ahead of the game.
But the digital landscape changes all the time. Over the past two decades alone there have been huge shifts in power.
When I was growing up Nokia was the number one manufacturer of mobile phones, MySpace was the bomb for communicating with friends and online shopping was still a pipedream.
Twenty years on and Nokia’s number is up, MySpace has been replaced by numerous social media platforms and we can now shop for clothes, computer games or even lanyards until we drop from the comfort of our couch, bed or park bench!
At Online Marketing Surgery, we are an award-winning agency but we face numerous challenges every single day.
From understanding the latest algorithm updates by Google or Facebook, getting to grips with the latest software or split testing our PPC ads to see which is the most effective, my team is constantly being kept on its toes.
Google, for example, tinkers with its algorithm between 500 and 600 times a year! That’s an incredible amount.
These changes can range from slight to major, but they all have one thing in common – they will affect your website rankings and as SEO specialists it is our job to get you as far up on Google as possible. Fortunately we love to learn and come across new solutions every day.
From analysing data in Google Analytics to refining our search for targeted keywords, our digital experts are constantly upgrading their skills daily.
But you cannot rely on the same tools year after year.
Developers are continuously updating and releasing upgraded versions. You have to keep exploring and learning.
And it’s not just the digital world that’s changing. The world is.
Just look at the High Street. We grew up with Woolworths, BHS, Toys R Us, Maplin, C&A, Blockbusters, Phones4U, Barratts etc, but they have now vanished forever.
Like MySpace and Nokia phones, these stores were at the top of their game but their failure to adapt ultimately cost them their place at the top table.
So if you want to succeed in business, the message is clear. Keep pushing forward.
Follow the lead of Sir Alex and never stand still. Keep learning and adapting new techniques and you will always be ready for every challenge that comes your way, even Brexit!
For full details on our digital marketing services visit us here or call 01543 899617.