Yesterday, after hopping off a call with a client, I received a group text from him and everyone else at the company:
(Paraphrased)
“I have no idea what’s going on but my Slack is completely offline. You can text me if you need me for anything.”
It wasn’t long before the rest of us couldn’t use Slack. And a few minutes after we all got shut out, we learned that there was a massive Slack outage.
It still wasn’t working last time I checked.
But this simple story reveals the problem of relying on third-party media:
You're always at the will of the company, not at the will of yourself.
In this business, not having access to Slack isn’t all that big of a deal. But there are companies that exist solely because of Slack—whether it provides real-time communication with teammates, delivers specific content to customers, or does something else that’s necessary to making money.
Relying solely on any third-party media, be it Slack, Instagram, Google search, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, or any other software is a dangerous idea.
Why?
Well, to quote the wise words of marketing legend Dan Kennedy,
“The most dangerous number in business is ONE.”
Relying on one of anything—whether for teammate communication, marketing, sales, products, services and even for one merchant account, one advertising channel, one marketing asset, even one email marketing software—is dangerous.
If just one variable from one company slips, it could take your entire business out with it.
Many such stories of businesses being crushed by a small algorithmic change, for example.
Moral of this quick n dirty story?
If you notice any aspect of your business falling into the deadly trap of one, mayhap it’s time to turn that one into a two.
It’s not necessarily the most profitable thing, but it prevents the worst from happening. And the wiser I grow, the more I realize life is as much about preventing disasters as it is achieving success.
And turning one into two in every aspect of your business is mayhap the best way to prevent disaster.
Anywho:
If you’d like to add another layer of disaster protection to your business, working with a professional email copywriter who can turn words into action and loyalty is another “safety valve” for your business (that can also pull in a hefty percentage of your overall bottom line).
Interested in seeing how this works?
Hit reply and let’s chat.
John
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