The idea of marginal gains isn’t anything particularly new, but that doesn’t make it any less promising. At its most simple, the idea is that by repeatedly making small improvements, you can make dramatic improvements to your overall performance. It’s a little bit like the way that we use A/B testing on our landing pages to boost conversion rates. Marginal gains are a gift that keeps on giving over time.
One of the biggest advocates of marginal gains is former Team GB cycling coach Dave Brailsford, who used the technique to improve the performance of his cyclists. This included everything from testing different helmets and riding positions to figuring out which oils and lubricants lead to the best ride times and overall performance.
Brailsford might have been working with cyclists, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no crossover when it comes to the world of business. In fact, sales and marketing are all about marginal gains, and they’re arguably perfectly placed to take advantage of the technique. After all, both disciplines are inherently measurable, which means that you can see exactly what impact the work you’re doing is having on your company’s overall performance.
Marginal gains in practice
One of the best ways to think about marginal gains is as a series of gradual, continuous improvements. When you get it right, you should be able to see it happening because you’ll keep on setting new records. For example, if your sales team is getting more and more effective over time, you should be able to see it in the number of conversions that they generate. They’ll keep on hitting new highs.
Marketing is arguably even more about marginal gains than sales is, especially when it comes to social media marketing. You can think about every new follower as a marginal gain, and remember that your followers are a gift that keeps on giving. They might not be ready to buy from you now, but that doesn’t mean that they never will be.
The good news is that it’s easy for you to go ahead and started because all you need to do is start trying different things. Identify areas that aren’t quite working for you and try to find new approaches. In the same way that Dave Brailsford and his team tested out different types of equipment to see which worked best, you can try different types of software or vary the approaches that you use. Not every change will be for the better, but that’s okay. Just keep an eye on your metrics and go with whatever works best.
Conclusion
Marginal gains is an approach that makes sense across the board, and not just for your sales and marketing teams. Leadership teams can benefit from them too, as well as everything from procurement to logistics and HR. It’s all about accepting that perfection is impossible and that there’s always room for improvement. It doesn’t matter how minor those improvements are, it only matters that you’re heading in the right direction. Good luck.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.