The Groundhog Day Principles of Internet Marketing

In 2008 I published my second book, The Magic of Groundhog Day, that included a chapter on business where I showed how managers, employees and businesses get trapped in their own “Groundhog days”.

I call this the “Groundhog Day Effect.”, the feeling that you are stuck and can’t change. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the world of internet marketing where I see many businesses stuck in the same repetitive, habitual  patterns of ineffective practices. For example, I worked with one business that continued to use email without any real purpose. There was no valuable content or call to action so their investment in buying lists was completely wasted.

In the movie, Phil Connors changes by trying something different every day and measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of his new actions. So he learns how to play the piano, make ice sculptures and perform good deeds by trial and error. Successful internet marketing depends on the same daily experimentation. Imagine if you tried something new every day and tested and evaluated it. So on Monday you might add a new headline on your email, Tuesday a new banner ad, Wednesday a new free offer ot capture email addresses. And every day you tested how well it worked and made small, incremental adjustments.

Phil changes by “learning through doing”. He does not change by thinking or reading or wondering “what if”. None of us can predict the future, and most planning is of little value. Our only power resides in our flexibility. Phil triumphs through his infinite capacity to experiment, monitor, and evaluate the results. He learns how to live by being creative in his thoughts and behaviors. In  marketing the same principle applies. You get results by doing new things, by taking action. I am sure that this experimentation and capacity for learning is the most important skill you can learn as a marketer .

Just think of how much progress you would make in the course of a month and a year. This attitude of continuous improvement enabled Phil to break free of the time trap, and it will also allow you to break free of your own marketing trap!

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