Alligator Arm
[al-i-gey-ter ahrm]
(verb) To shoot in a weak, goofy style without extending the arm; to short-arm.
(adv.) In American football, a would-be pass-receiver's arm extended timidly, less than full length . . . not whole-heartedly eager to catch the ball.
I first heard the term "alligator arm" from Clark Kellogg doing color commentary on the Indiana Pacers. He said it after a shot came up well short of the rim because the shooter simply did not follow-through.
When looking up a definition online I found that it also refers to football receivers missing a pass because they failed to really reach out for it. Both of these seemed appropriate for this post.
I've recently had a client alligator-arm it. I want to be careful here, but let me surgically provide an explanation.
We were hired to design a website for a new client. Great – I love new opportunities! We were told that they had their own web guy and would need us to only provide the design and their guy would take care of the back-end coding. In the back of my mind, I wrestled to push down the red flag that was popping up.
We delivered a design that we were very proud of and the client loved. We handed off Photoshop files and instructions to the client and held our breath (some day I'll post about why handing off our native Photoshop files sends chills down my spine).
Last week the site went live, and as I had feared, there were numerous issues. Not horrific things, mind you, but things that were clearly not right. I subsequently found out that their web guy was really more of an application programming specialist, and web programming was not his forte. Great design was in place, but they alligator armed it when it came to bringing the site to life. The downside from a personal perspective is that I won't be able to point potential clients to them as another example of our web capabilities.
I often tell people, "if you're going to cut corners someplace, don't do it with your identity – how people perceive you is just too important." And with this particular client, their web presence is vitally important to how their potential clients will perceive them.
Alligator-arming it is poor follow-through, coming up short by not paying attention to the details – and you don't want to give your target audience the impression that little details aren't important.
This concept, of course, stretches beyond web programming. Sending a well-designed piece to the wrong printer can achieve the same results, as can failing to implement your branding consistently across ALL touchpoints with your audience.
Have about you? Have you ever alligator-armed it? Please comment with the story and any lessons learned.
My encouragement is to reach out and strive for excellence in every aspect of your marketing efforts – from start to finish and at all points in between.
See ya later alligator!
Love this! I'm going to start using alligator-arm as my new verb of choice & totally claim it as my own, giving no credit to you whatsoever ... except to the other people who read your incredibly helpful blog.
I was just now tempted to alligator-arm it when painting the nursery closet ceiling. Yes ... popcorn ceiling. "Aw, I'm not going to work too hard on it. Nobody will look in here." Now after reading your post, I believe I will go back in with a second code ... hoping that when Chase turns 14, he'll come to me, hug me and say, "Mom, I just looked at the ceiling in my closet and saw how beautifully it is painted. Thank you for going all the way to make my room look nice and for not alligator-arming it."
Posted by: Janie | March 19, 2009 at 01:45 PM
Great application Janie! That was exactly the approach we took when finishing our basement. I wanted to pay attention to ALL the little details, knowing that I never wanted to look back one day and say "if only . . ."
From a work standpoint, I labor over projects and work the details well beyond the point that I probably should, so letting someone else do the "finish-up" is way hard.
I need no credit when you use the term "alligator-arm", just a quarter every time you say it. ;-)
And I'm sure Chase's room will just rock!
Posted by: Todd Adkins | March 20, 2009 at 11:04 AM
My man...thanks for urging me to go all the way with the Fishhook business cards. That extra pointy thing costs us dearly at the print shop, but it always gets noticed. (was just reminded of this last week). Thanks for going all the way.
Posted by: Evan McBroom | March 23, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Thanks for taking the bait my man!
(fishhook pun intended).
Posted by: Todd Adkins | March 23, 2009 at 01:19 PM