Every single day, we in the marketing and public relations field are inundated with “the next best thing,” the new opportunity, the new platform, the new service, the new best way to do whatever. Our job is to keep up with all the opportunities, educate and train ourselves to their potential benefits, drawbacks and costs, and then ultimately match opportunities to our clients’ needs—their business needs, their sales goals, their brand models, etc., all while doing so in the context of each client’s specific strategic plan and budget.

We always start by developing the strategic aspects of their right-fit approach. There may be dozens of “opportunities,” but far fewer that will maximize ROI and ultimate results.

Some camps attempt to place all the options in several categories, sometimes called “traditional” marketing approaches (print advertising, radio/TV, direct mail, etc.) vs. “new marketing” categories, which include social media exposure and online advertising. Some might go as far as to throw away “the old” and get on the bandwagon of only investing in the newest of options. It’s likely that some mix of both will be appropriate. Each client and client business need is different, and by making the upfront commitment to analyze the options and strategize an effective plan, we are able to cut through the clutter of the new daily opportunities and focus on the marketing and public relations initiatives that should be implemented.

Your marketing and public relations professional should take the time to meet with you regularly to analyze the options, review the budget, review the successes of ongoing marketing efforts, and then discuss where to stay the course and where to adjust along the way. Be open to considering all options, but don’t be swayed to jump on what’s new just because it’s new.