How hard are you trying?
Ryan Breske
Doyle Dane and Bernbach (DDB) created a remarkable brand position for Avis in 1963 with their We try harder® advertising campaign. For Avis, advertising that employees spend a great deal of effort serving the customer — and actually delivering on that brand promise — helped increase sales immediately after the campaign ran. The result, Avis was profitable for the first time in thirteen years. Today, the We try harder® branding effort is considered one of the most successful in modern-day advertising history.
I wonder, though, is there such a thing as trying too hard? Is there a point when effort becomes an unnecessary attribute? For those who set out to accomplish great things in life — whether it's leading a profitable business, finishing Ironman Canada, raising a child as a single dad (or mom) — a good amount of effort is necessary to be successful. But, are there times when putting forth too much effort hinders success?
This is one of the many explorations I'm taking in my life. I consider persistence a positive attribute of mine, however I can't always say I see the direct benefit of it. In some cases, the more effort I put forth, the less I seem to be closer to my end goal.
Interestingly, there are a couple of different takes on the word trying — one, the more common attempting or striving — but another, of which is extremely annoying. Does this imply that their is a tipping point when it comes to effort? Is it like Jimmy Cliff sang, the harder they come, the harder they fall?
A recent post by Seth Godin just spoke to the alternative to failure. Maybe, just maybe, this notion of trying has more to do with the process, rather than the end result. However, for a society that seems to center around achieving things, how do we create a sustainable model for failure? It's hard to imagine a business environment that supports failure since revenue is almost always the primary goal. In the personal world — which I only distinguish here due to the more commonly held view that it's separate from business — failures look like breakups, divorce, custody battles, housing foreclosures and so on.
Circling back to the Avis example, I think the thing that made this campaign — and ultimately Avis — successful is that trying harder was actually a clever way to communicate what was natural to them — that they care about the customer. This is part of their brand essence.
So, perhaps being persistent is simply part of my brand makeup and it would run contrary to my character if I simply achieved things without much effort.
How about you, what is your take on trying? Do you have examples of success where you didn't put forth much effort?
Reader Comments (6)
I'm in agreement with Seth that we need to be more willing to attempt things and not worry so much about failure and society except when it comes to brain surgery. The process is good for all of us to expand our horizons when we try new things. The fear of failure or being ripped to shreds by the media will keep us from achieving new heights. I applaud artists who make the jump from acting to music or vice-verse because they are willing to take that risk.
The time when I believe we need to stop trying so hard is when we encounter adverse health affects or when we see that our productivity is dropping and creating more errors. When these occur it is a good time to step away for a period of time and come back refreshed with a new perspective.
While we've all likely heard the historical cases of inventors who failed numerous times (Edison, Ford, Bell and so one), we don't relate to failure in a positive sense amongst the masses. Instead, there seems to be a constant push for standardization. Sure, it makes a lot things more convenient — like knowing that my laptop plug will work most anywhere in the US — but at what cost?
True, I'd probably want my brain surgeon to have a clean operating sheet. However, if I required some sort of radical procedure, perhaps I'd choose the surgeon who approached things differently as they would likely be less conservative than one with a perfect score.
As I re-read your comments, I wonder — in failure, don't we learn one of the most valuable lessons in life — humility? If this is the case, we ought to strive for failures. The thing called "too much effort" would only exist when the true outcome we're after — happiness — fails to show up.
How delightful it seems to me that a car rental company or even the U.S. Government would be making that promise. And yet, how unnecessary or even irrelevant it would seem to me for a soda company, or a scientific company, or even a university, to make such a promise. I explore that, too.
Laura
Tell me more, Laura. Are you suggesting that effort should be a "given" for any industry? That perhaps, a thing most businesses are lacking is the notion of trying to serve the customer?
Ryan,
Speaking as someone without a marketing background, I would suggest that the most intimate experience a car rental company can offer me is my interaction with the person behind the counter: character. The most intimate experience a products company can offer is the object itself in my hands: its texture, beauty, functionality.
By the way, I heard a great Radioworks podcast a few days ago, related to your topic. It's called "Failure Equals Success", and you can get the podcast here: http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/podcast.html
Laura
Laura -
I love hearing from those who don't come from a marketing background — well, as a trade, that is. You are a consumer and as a consumer, have the most valuable perspective in my book. What you mention, character, really sits with any relationship, yes? Even the notion of a product's characteristics sit at the heart of the experience. If a product's characteristics are great, we'll likely overlook shoddy service or a higher price point. But, with service-based companies, the character of the serviceperson, which translates to our experience, is the brand.
Nice podcast and a topic that seems to be a trend in thought these days.
— Ryan