By Doug Fouts - Managing Director at Xapsis Integrated Marketing
Have you ever heard the phrase “The devil is in the
details”, or some variation thereof?
If you have, did you know that the original idiom was
actually “God is in the detail”?
Many individuals have been attributed with being the first
to say “God is in the detail” including the German architect Ludwig Mies van
der Rohe, art historian Aby Warburg and even Madame Bovary author Gustave
Flaubert. All these people lived around
the late 1800s well into the 1900s, however the first known printing of the
saying changed to “The devil is in the details” is in 1975, which makes me ask
why did the statement get altered?
I tried to research a bit, in order to answer that question,
and I can’t find a good explanation, but I think I have come to my own
conclusion. The devil is in the details
because, it is the details that we so often overlook in the busyness of our
everyday lives, and we usually suffer detrimental consequences because of it.
Details can be the downfall of customer service efforts. The
details can mean life or death when it comes to surgery, being audited when it
comes to taxes, or whether you get a medal in the Olympics. In this day
and age they can be the difference between your business surviving or
thriving. Details, all too often, play the
role of a stumbling block that trips us up. Which when we fail we need to take this
into consideration.
In our business we talk to many companies and business
owners that are struggling to understand the difference between:
- True Custom Web Design and Development Vs. A Customized WordPress Template
- Having an IT firm develop your website Vs. Having a MARKETING firm develop your website
- A cheap solution Vs. An affordable solution
- Pretty design Vs. Effective Design
- Brand Awareness Vs. Brand Engagement
The key to understanding what separates each option really
lies many times in seemingly small details, but those details can mean the
difference between your businesses marketing being highly successful, or an
exercise in futility and frustration! In
fact, Xapsis has set up a website that directly addresses these minute details,
and you can view it at www.hereisthedifference.com.
When you pay attention to the details the results can truly
be divine, when you ignore them the results can be devilishly devastating. Paying close attention to the minute, yet
important, differences in your decision making, whether for your business or
personally, can often mean the difference between being an inspirational success
story…or a cautionary tale.
