I had a great conversation the other day with a respected colleague who I’ve known and worked with off and on for over 15 years. This gentleman works specifically in the Public Relations sector, though that is irrelevant for purposes of this post. The conversation turned broadly to marketing, and his frustrations around companies – and in his case clients – that “get it” and those that don’t.
I actually don’t think the term “get it” is accurate, to slightly disagree with my friend. I really do believe most businesses believe marketing can be a major catalyst for success, and not just some sort of below the line expense. Rather, I think the term “committed to marketing” is more applicable as the root of his frustration.
Like anything, the more you put into marketing, the more you get out of it. Too often, marketing seems the one – out of all the major disciplines – that people think you can “fake” or half-ass to success. Worse, it gets looked at in a silo rather than being looked at as an integrated part of a business. As you know, I share dramatically different opinions of this because marketing is the one area that is interconnected not just to other areas of marketing, but to the rest of a business or company. It just is, and no one can convince me differently.
There are businesses that fall into two camps, mainly, when it comes to marketing: 1) Those that commit to it; 2) Those that don’t. There really is no in-between, you either believe in the power of a successful marketing strategy – and see it through fully – or you don’t. Further, you can’t believe in one aspect of marketing and not the others – again, that whole “interconnected” thing I talk about.
Through distant and recent history, there are countless examples of marketing lifting a product, brand or service to great heights. There are also countless examples of marketing gone wrong, and becoming a drain or liability, for a business. I would argue in either case, the swinging factor begins with commitment. Obviously, execution has something to do with it, but it begins with real commitment.
Consistency with your message is key. Easier said than done with what I like to refer to as the “gaping maw” of social media portals poking me to be fed every day! All managers, on point and consistently feeding that chow hound is a big job on top of servicing customers, emtptying the garbage and managing inventory;) At least owning a restaurant is more difficult; putting it in perspective helps get through the day of a retailer;)