Surely, you’ve been let down.
If you’ve been in business for any length of time you’ve probably been underwhelmed, disgruntled, or downright ripped off by “marketing people.”
Sorry to hear that. So have I.
The fact is, more than 5 million people provide marketing services of some sort in the U.S. There’s no barrier to entry in this field. No credentials needed.
Most marketing folks are specialists with one or two areas of tactical expertise, like those peddling text message marketing, “guaranteed LinkedIn strategies” or blind email blasts to every breathing human in the universe.
All their pitches contain some little element of truth — something of value for someone. Somewhere.
But how are you supposed to sort through them all and find one that matches up with what you really need?
How do you even know what you really need? Most business owners don’t.
That’s where marketing often goes wrong.
Owners assign marketing specialists to execute tactics before any strategic thinking has been done. It’s a “Ready, Fire Aim” mode of operation.
It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into because there are so many people who really want to help.
There are plenty of digital ad agencies that’ll gladly spend your monthly ad budget with Ai generated “creatives” without spending five minutes to get to know your company, your culture, your category or your brand strategy.
Web developers will dive right into that big new website project of yours, with no strategy discussion whatsoever. Then they get annoyed when they have to sit around and wait for months for you to provide the “content.”
Guess what… the content has to come first!
If it doesn’t, you don’t have a marketing problem, you have a strategy problem.
You’d be amazed by how many successful business owners have no strategic clarity whatsoever. They manage to survive even though they struggle every day to articulate their brand strategy, their value proposition, their purpose.
Quite simply, they don’t know what to say. Or to whom.
They’ve never spent time thinking it through. They haven’t spelled out their underlying strategy, much less, communicated it to their marketing vendors.
That lack of clarity causes all sorts of problems. It’s not just marketing that goes wrong, it also causes operational headaches and hiring issues.
How can you possibly hire the right marketing specialists if you haven’t sorted out the strategy?
Here’s a sure-fire way to recognize a company that has a poorly defined brand strategy, and no idea what to do on the marketing front:
They put out help wanted ads with a laundry list of marketing duties that reads like an encyclopedia. Must do everything from Amazon ads to ZenDesk management. For $15 bucks an hour.
Then they wonder why they have a revolving door of marketing people.
Most marketing specialists will deliver for you if they’re given good direction. But very few can provide that direction. You can’t expect an SEO specialist or a graphic designer to provide strategic insight.
That’s the magic that’s missing from most marketing efforts. They’re out of balance. It’s all tactics and no strategy.
That’s where a strategic marketing generalist comes into play… Someone who understands all the tactical options but focuses on strategy. Someone who can collaborate closely with you to devise a brand strategy that’ll guide all your marketing efforts.
That means someone who can think strategically and write brilliantly. It does no good to create a strategy that’s not communicated clearly.
I’ve never met a good account planner or brand strategist that isn’t adept at both.
That person needs to have extensive business strategy experience, as well as an understanding of marketing execution and creative direction.
It’s a tall order, but when you find someone like that he or she will become your most valued marketing weapon. The magic that’s been missing.
So before you hire another marketing specialist or dive into a big new tactical initiative, let’s talk. Chances are, I can save you a lot of time and trouble by getting the strategy set first. Contact me here or reach out on LinkedIn.
