Your Problems Aren't Unique

"The story you have just seen is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

Jack Webb, Dragnet

No matter how well-oiled your marketing machine is or how carefully you plan ahead, you will run into challenges and obstacles - and find yourself wondering how you got into the mess you're now trying to get out of.

So are marketing headaches, aren't they a lot of fun? :)

This is part of the marketing process. And the good news is:

Your marketing problems aren't unique. Someone has already been through them, faced them head-on, and come out the other side. The names and faces may have changed, but the story stays the same - and that means a solution is already available, in one form or another.

The answer may not be crystal clear or handed to you on a platter, but if you consult with the right people, involve the right peers in the process, and resist the urge to treat it as the end of the world, you can alleviate the stress and start taking real steps toward solving it.

Consider what you're facing. Look at it from a different angle. See if it can be mapped to another industry, another startup, or another marketing play you've seen work before.

Odds are it does share some similarity to a growth hack or a fix you've encountered personally or through a marketing contact. How did they approach it? How did they get out of it? Use that. Adapt it. Apply creativity and past experience - yours or someone else's - to solve the problem.

It may not be easy. But I'll bet more than a few bucks the answer is possible, already out there, and closer than you think.