The pandemic has shaken many of the business world’s strongest pillars right down to their foundations (pun intended). One pillar in particular, which has seen a growing number of cracks in recent history, is office space.

Several of my clients are grappling with whether to hang on to their offices, or transition fully to a remote work arrangement.

Some have totally abandoned their offices, completely decentralizing their operation. Others have downsized to executive suites, choosing to keep offices for a few key players, and decentralizing support staff. While still others are sticking with their current office space.

This issue came to mind recently as I was flipping through the latest edition of INC Magazine (one of my fave biz mags, and frequent source of topics for this blog), and came across a point-counter-point feature debating the need for an office. Two business owners, an organic beverage maker, and subscription meal provider, and a law professor, argued for and against having a physical office.

As with most things, however, it all depends…

For example, if you have a traditional rental car agency, onsite security or maintenance office, or any kind of operation that requires folks to visit you in person — an office is a necessity.

But for most professional service businesses, not so much. Even if prospective clients demand a “face-to-face” meeting, you can beg off the request, citing COVID-19 concerns (an excuse that’s likely to be applicable for the 12 to 18 months, if not longer), and offer a Zoom call as an alternative.

More than likely, after 12 to 18 months pass, you can simply tell clients: “hey, we gave up our office space because we couldn’t use it for last year and a half.” And viola, Zoom (or a similar alterantive) is now the “norm” for “face-to-face” meetings.

In other words, office space is a business tool that has become obsolete for many businesses.

This issue of obsolesces occurred to me again as I was working my way through the audiobook version of The New Rules of Marketing + PR. Penned by bestselling author, marketing + pr guru, and speaking circuit giant (at least when the speaking circuit was a thing), David Merriman Scott, The New Rules of Marketing + PR is one of those cornerstone marketing books.

But while I’ve heard dozens of interviews with Scott, and read many of his articles and blog posts, I’ve never actually read The New Rules of Marketing + PR. Fearing this might leave a “hole” in my marketing education, I download the book on my library app and got to listening!

I discovered very quickly, however, that even though there are three updated editions of the book, it’s well out-of-date, and far behind my current knowledge curve.

For example, it notes the importance of becoming a frequent blog-commenter BEFORE launching your own blog. Meanwhile, most blogs see little to no comments these days. And many well-known and highly popular blogs don’t allow visitors to leave comments.

In another example, the book covers the value of “social bookmarking” sites, like Dig, Stumble Upon, and Del.icious — All of which I haven’t heard mention of in a good 6 or 7 years.

And these are only a couple of examples that have emerged in just the first half of the book, which is as far as I’ve gotten.

The larger point here is that many business tools have become obsolete…

Here’s a perfect example… Once upon a time, every office had a fax machine. But then email took over as the dominant form of business communication, scanners became more prominent, and over the last 10 years, fax machines have basically disappeared.

And here’s another shining example from the marketing and communications world… Sales letters (the dreaded “junk mail”) used to choke mailboxes the world over. And while direct mail still exists (and is still used to great effect by many a savvy marketer), the volume of traditional sales letters has plummeted.

But that doesn’t mean “sales letters” have disappeared. In fact, more sales letters are sent by more businesses than ever before. They just happen to be transmitted by email (the dreaded “spam”) rather than in an envelope.

What I see all too often, however, is businesses clinging to outdated tools.

And it usually comes at the detriment of their enterprise. This is particularly true when it comes to marketing…

Relying on direct mail to the exclusion of email marketing, while insisting on paying for print advertising and refusing to embrace the internet, and leaning on traditional word of mouth, while ignoring social media are some of the more egregious examples.

But it doesn’t end there.

Business owners reject even simple tweaks in marketing campaign language or approach out of hand. Decisions based solely on the argument that “this is the way we’ve ALWAYS done it.” Without any regard as to whether that way is getting the job done. Or considering whether a different approach could achieve better results.

In the end, clinging to out-dated tools doesn’t help your cause… Why pay for office space and related operating costs if you don’t REALLY need an office? And why spend time making blog comments or using social bookmarking tools that no one pays attention to?

Are Your Marketing Efforts Underperforming?

It could be time to rethink your approach. And I can help! So, let’s chat… 310.466.7893 | ryan@ryananys.com