Here’s the Wikipedia definition for silver bullet:
The term has been adopted into a general metaphor;  "silver bullet" refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technological development or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem. 

Daily I interact with people who think there is some sliver bullet to marketing.  They fall into two or perhaps three groups:

1. Group One believes they have the silver bullet and already know all the answers.
2. Group Two knows they don’t have all the answers but they think there actually is only one answer – again, the silver bullet.
3. Group Three would probably be classified as not knowing the questions. 

For the purposes of today’s post, we’re going to focus on groups one and two.

Group One thinks they know everything there is to know about marketing . Who knows if they actually do? Or, if this is a mask to hide the fact that they don’t?

Either way, they are certainly not fun to deal with. They come in all ages and from all industry segments but they are certain of what works. The young ones may think social media is the answer to every question and that no one will read anything longer than a tweet and stay interested. They are convinced that all messaging should be short and that all channels should be digital. Others think that QR codes or PURLs are the answer to all marketing ills. Some think that direct mail is the only thing that will work and some think it all boils down to people buying from people and marketing is a big waste of resources.

The trouble with this group is that they are both right…and wrong at the same time. Short messaging is great for the right people. But there are still plenty of people out there who need more detail than a tag line can deliver in order to identify and remember an organization. And yes, people do buy from people but they also buy from websites and because of little green reptiles.

Group Two knows they don’t know everything, which gives them the edge in my book. However, because they’ve been listening to folks in group one, they believe (and hope) that there is some silver bullet that will position their business correctly, convey why all potential prospects should buy from them and convert all those interested to sales.

The challenge with this group is getting them to see that success in marketing comes from a series of messages delivered to multiple groups of people or even individuals delivered consistently through multiple channels. And, even more importantly, those messages and channels must change all the time in order to stay relevant.

Group Two should stop listening to Group One and both groups should remember the following:

1. There is no silver bullet for marketing (and there has never been).
2. Success comes from a process of trial and error coupled with continuous learning.
3. What worked before will not necessarily work, or NOT work, now.

In their book, What Sticks, Greg Stuart and Rex Briggs proposed this mix: spend 70% of your marketing money on things that you know work, spend 20% trying to make those things work better and spend 10% on things that are completely different than anything you have done before.  I don’t know if this is exactly the right mix, but I do know that you want to analyze what you have done (or others have done) for best practices, apply that learning to your current circumstances, try some different things, measure everything and learn something from everything you do, and of course you must do all of that consistently.