Surge is an appropriate verb to describe the powerful push upward or forward to achieve your business objectives. It also serves as an acronym that represents Holly’s guide to success. She walks us through her approachable process to achieve market success, focusing on Strategy, Unity, Reputation, Gains, and Efficiency.

These five principles are especially helpful post-pandemic as that global event hit many businesses hard. Marketing departments may disproportionately suffer cuts when budgets are tight. According to McKinsey & Company, while emerging from the pandemic, major North American consumer companies reduced their marketing budgets by an average of 8%, with some cut 20% or more. Holly makes a compelling case for investing in marketing teams and their tools when she notes, “You can take advantage of conditions in which others are busy just trying to survive and achieve results that others wouldn’t dare to imagine.”

Move through the process

It would be reasonable to assume achieving such results requires heroic effort or large expense, but according to Power of Surge, you only need to muster desire, dedicate the time and resources, and have the discipline to execute. Rollo says, “The advice I’m giving you is based on proven methods that are practical, immediately actionable, and risk-free…You will walk away with a prescriptive approach on how to use marketing to unlock hidden value for your company that investors will care about, particularly if a transaction is in your future.”

The author’s guidance is so clear and actionable that I put some of Holly’s recommendations into practice in just days, specifically around our strategy (“S”). Our business has enjoyed success without a consistent emphasis on strategy, for which I’m grateful but not proud. Any lack of a clear strategy falls squarely on me.

With Rollo’s approach guiding my thinking, I’ve since defined a strategy and shared it with our marketing team and the rest of the company, turning our attention to unity (“U”). Having everyone focused on the same destination, each team can make informed, independent decisions that support forward progress toward our collective goals. Small tasks and large initiatives can all be measured according to their consistency in helping us surge.

Reputation (“R”) is not something created overnight. We built one that is respected in our industry, but Holly shines a spotlight on the gaps in our execution. I’m quick to forward praise from our clients to our team members when I receive it. However, we’ve not consistently requested that the same feedback be shared publicly via reviews. We all recognize the value, so we have a renewed focus on sharing the positive reputation we’ve earned.

Holly sets appropriate expectations that it will take up to 12 months to start to see gains (“G”). As a small business, our experience tends to be accelerated because we’re not rolling out initiatives to a slow-moving organization of thousands. Financial gains will take time to realize, but the gains in team morale have been almost immediate. Our designers, developers, and the whole team appear energized by a clear strategy and the autonomy and support to align their roles and teams toward our objectives.

We identified inefficiencies in onboarding new clients that we are improving. Quickly finalizing agreements, understanding business objectives, and conducting market and user research all contribute to efficiently (“E”) moving to build the right digital product users will love.

Additional expertise

You don’t have to be a sailor to understand the parallels Holly draws between sailing and formulating and executing an effective go-to-market plan. From the perspective of a (less-accomplished) sailor, I find the references refreshing, and they helped solidify key points while providing a nice break from a nonstop business focus.

I was sold on SURGE based on Holly’s presentation alone. But like a concert you can’t imagine possibly getting better, the encore of advice from industry-leading CMOs expanded my thinking about how we can double down on marketing to help our business surge.

Without a clear strategy, I grew complacent about where we were. Buoyed by a top-notch team, we weathered storms and made progress thanks to a strong current pushing us along. Without a clear vision of where you want to be, there is little impetus or motivation to change. Now I know where I want to go. My new challenge is to be patient while supporting our team as we all get there together.

As the president of a growing digital products company, I have many urgent needs demanding my attention. President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously categorized challenges as either urgent or important and underscored that they are mutually exclusive. I encourage you to take a break from the urgent and devote time to the important with the help of the lessons, guidance, and wisdom in Power of Surge.

Brad Weber is the founder and president of InspiringApps.