Key Takeaways:
- Give your marketing and growth strategies a fair test period before deciding to change them.
- Investigate issues thoroughly instead of assuming the worst.
- Stay steady but flexible—adjust when necessary, but don’t react out of fear.
Read More: Digital Marketing for Beginners: Which Metrics Should You Be Tracking For Success?
Earlier this month, I was implementing some new growth strategies for one of my clients, a fast-rising grocery company in Lagos. One of the things I introduced was using screenshots of their Google reviews in social content. The goal? To drive engagement by showcasing real customer feedback.
Simple as it sounds, it worked—brilliantly. Within days, their posts featuring Google reviews had 82% more reach than their other content. People were engaging, saving, and generally having a super time to the client’s joy. It was clear that seeing positive experiences from real customers made others more likely to trust and interact with the brand.
Then, something strange happened.
Dear Numbers: Why The Drop, Please?
A few days into this strategy, we noticed a worrying trend—the number of Google reviews began to drop. Ahhhhh!
When we started with this approach, the client’s Google business page had close to 70 reviews, but suddenly, that number started shrinking. Not only were they not getting new reviews, but existing ones were disappearing. Like, what’s happening? How? Why?
Cue the doubts and second-guessing.
The immediate assumption? The new strategy was somehow backfiring. Maybe customers who saw their reviews being shared on social media got uncomfortable and deleted them? Maybe showcasing reviews was doing more harm than good?
The knee-jerk reaction was to immediately stop posting Google reviews and revert to the status quo.
But something about that conclusion felt off.
Pause. Think. Troubleshoot.
Instead of pulling the plug, I did what any growth strategist worth their salt should do – I took a step back and jumped into investigator mode.
After some digging, I found out the real culprit: a Google bug..
At the time, Google was experiencing a glitch that affected the visibility of review counts. The reviews were still there, but the numbers displayed to users weren’t updating correctly for some business pages.
That was such a relief!
It was also enlightening about how seemingly bad results might not always mean a bad strategy. I mean, if we had shut down the strategy at the first sign of trouble, we would have missed out on a massive engagement opportunity.
That experience reinforced something crucial—growth strategies need time. If we react too quickly to short-term fluctuations, there is a big risk of abandoning effective strategies over temporary issues.
How to Avoid Knee-Jerk Reactions in Growth Strategy
Whether it’s marketing, business development, or any other area of growth, quick reactions can hurt more than they help. Here’s how to avoid getting swayed by every and anything that happens:
1. Set a Timeframe Before You Tweak Anything
Not every strategy will yield instant results. Decide in advance how long you’ll give it before making adjustments. In most cases, a few days or weeks isn’t enough to judge success or failure.
2. Look for Patterns, Not Single Data Points
One bad day (or even a bad week) doesn’t mean a strategy isn’t working. Before changing course, check if there’s a consistent downward trend. Is it a real issue or just a temporary fluctuation?
3. Investigate Before You Act
When something seems off, stay positive and don’t immediately assume the worst. Dig deeper. Could there be a technical issue? A platform bug? A shift in audience behavior that needs further analysis? Jumping to conclusions can lead to fixing the wrong problem.
4. Trust the Process, but Stay Flexible
There’s a balance between sticking to the plan and adjusting when needed. The key is to be thoughtful about changes, not reactive. Evaluate, analyze, then decide.
5. Communicate with Your Stakeholders
When numbers fluctuate, stakeholders may get nervous. Reassure them with data and insights rather than making decisions based on fear.
Conclusion
Growth strategies are not “set and forget,” but they’re also not “panic and pull the plug.” Success takes time, consistency, and informed decision-making. So, the next time something looks like it’s not working—pause. Take a breath. Look deeper. The answer might not be what you expect.