I recently listened to “If You Could Live Anywhere” by Melody Warnick, a thoughtful guide for remote workers deciding where to settle. While it’s about choosing where to live, it offers valuable insights for martech professionals, especially about decision-making.
At one point, she discusses the concept of FOBO (fear of better options), which is far more insidious than its cousin FOMO (fear of missing out). FOBO can interfere with organizational objectives, affecting martech practitioners, their colleagues and their employers. When this happens, martech practitioners can prove their value by providing strategies and tactics to confront it.
FOBO wreaks a lot of martech havoc in the buy vs. build or buy and build debate. Martech platforms are expensive and require a lot of effort. So, it is natural to want to make a well-informed and considered decision. However, the more you consider, the more you’ll wonder if better options are available — which will make you want to consider even more things.
That said, spending a lot of time and effort evaluating platforms and vendors can inhibit progress and delay meeting a need before it changes. There is a virtue to action.
Helpful tactics
Plenty of tactics allow for deliberation with a bias toward action. Procurement practitioners are very helpful in this situation. They buy stuff for a living and have plenty of tools to help evaluate options. For instance, they can help martech practitioners write and evaluate requests for proposals (RFPs).
They can also determine which option offers the best value instead of focusing on the total price. Rarely are the cheapest or most expensive options the most suitable.
Because procurement works with the entire organization, they may know of suitable options used by other departments. When it comes to multi-solution vendors, they understand how the vendor measures up. A great product from a subpar vendor is not a great combo.
Paralysis analysis
Selecting a platform or vendor is not the only time that FOBO can rear its head. Testing designs, copy and other UX elements as part of a multivariate testing strategy can also cause paralysis analysis.
An iterative approach to UX testing certainly can help address FOBO. For example, testing hero images, headlines, button colors, and calls to action (CTAs) makes sense. The findings of an experiment can inspire further experiments to boost the conversion of any design element.
However, it is also easy to fall into the trap of exerting effort to optimize something that would yield less lift than focusing on something else. If an element has been optimized, what if shifting focus elsewhere means missing out on further optimization? FOBO can cause someone to fixate on spending time and effort on less fruitful ventures.
Here are some strategies I’ve found useful.
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| Define clear goals and objectives | Align martech decisions with specific business and marketing goals to provide a clear direction for technology selection and utilization. |
| Establish evaluation criteria | Define specific criteria for assessing martech tools based on the organization’s unique needs, priorities and budget constraints. |
| Prioritize and focus | Avoid the temptation to adopt every new technology; instead, concentrate on the tools that directly address the most critical marketing needs and offer the greatest potential impact. |
| Embrace imperfect action | Recognize that no decision will be absolutely perfect; focus on making informed choices and taking action rather than waiting for an unattainable ideal solution. |
| Set deadlines | Impose realistic time limits on the decision-making process to prevent prolonged analysis and encourage timely commitment to a chosen solution. |
| Seek expert insights and peer advice | Consult with industry analysts, technology consultants and other marketing professionals to gain valuable perspectives and make more informed decisions. |
| Pilot and test | Implement new technologies on a small scale or through pilot programs before committing to a full-scale rollout to assess their effectiveness and integration. |
| Regularly Review and Optimize | Continuously assess the performance and utilization of the existing martech stack and make necessary adjustments, including upgrades or replacements, based on evolving needs and results. |
| Develop a Competency Framework | Establish a framework that guides the development of both the martech stack and the marketing team’s skills, ensuring alignment with long-term business objectives and technological advancements. |
These strategies are useful even when FOBO is not involved. For instance, when a stakeholder requests something that likely won’t yield a great ROI, these tactics can help avoid the dangers of saying “no” while allowing stakeholders to feel heard.
It is critical to remain aware of when challenges like FOBO present themselves. Everyone confronts them occasionally. It’s how one acts that counts.
You’ll never get 100%
Rarely — if ever — do people truly get all that they want. It is virtually impossible. However, that doesn’t mean striving to get all that one can is futile.
That is when fear of better options can rear its ugly head. Martech practitioners can help guide stakeholders when FOBO strikes, which is a great way for them to exhibit the value they bring to organizations.
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