Finding the easy way or the hard way

Introduction 
The good news 
Secret No. 1: Social Networking   
Secret No. 2: Spheres of Influence   
Secret No 3: Greed 
Finding the easy way or the hard way 

As marketers, we often outsmart ourselves. We come up with complex, highly involved strategies to achieve our goals, sometimes when something simple can do the same thing or better.

Some of you reading this have already told yourself that at least one of the steps above is elementary, is something that has been done for decades and is far from innovative.

But I don't really care about innovative. I care about results. All too often, we abandon that which isn't innovative because we assume it's tired and worn out, when the reality is that many tried-and-true strategies continue to outperform the most innovative, complicated ideas and strategies being developed today and tomorrow.

Ironically, this means that some of today's best behavioral marketers aren't just the ones with the greatest technology and innovation, but instead they are the ones who have focused on what works.

Matt Heinz is senior director of marketing for HouseValues, Inc. and the author of http://www.mattonmarketing.com/. Read full bio.