marketing under siege
Marketing is under siege, and for at least twenty-five good reasons.
Here they are:
1. the definition of marketing has evolved from ‘meeting unmet needs’ to ‘getting rid of the shit we make’… being a pusher sucks
2. terminology like ‘audience’ is a farce- They aren’t your audience because they aren’t watching, sorry… ‘consumer’ is also misdirected, because they are people
3. the excuse of not being able to calculate ROI is laughable. Look at how Time Warner’s purchase of AOL was justified. Be brave and make some assumptions.
4. if you act like Sales Support then you are Sales Support… that’s not the same as Marketing
5. if you operate from the inside out, you are doing it wrong. Marketers work from the outside in (unmet needs are not in the cubicle next door)
6. advertising is not a synonym for marketing. Advertising is just one application of marketing
7. doing last year’s plan again and demanding double digit performance isn’t going to work, even if it worked last year
8. sometimes a little idea, really well executed, can have a big impact
9. a great marketing plan includes the points of contact, the right messages (rational and/or emotional), and the timing of those points of contact and messages
10. price is too often the default marketing lever
11. being transactional vs contextual (just focusing on the point of purchase vs all of the influences)
12. defense vs offense… reactive vs proactive
13. having the right framework- is the process delivering business, results?
14. trend-hopping… are you jumping on the low-carb bandwagon, too?
15. who gets credit and thanks? When was the last time the marketing department was thanked? The agencies?
16. build vs buy- it’s easier to buy a marketing solution than build it
17. do you know where good ideas come from? Can you recognize a good idea? Inspire one?
18. even thought he present doesn’t resemble the past, do you think the future will resemble the present?
19. working brand by brand and function by function (divide and conquer)
20. believing that four good tactics adds up to a legitimate strategy
21. not my problem… everything is your problem
22. one size fits all… this thinking doesn’t work in anything anymore
23. not having a prioritized list of opportunities for growth
24. not knowing how the people purchasing your product/service consider, choose, use, replace, replenish, upgrade
25. trying to get by with average talent and cheap resources
I’m sure you have more to add, and can emebellish on these…. Do you think we can get to “50 Ways Marketing Sucks”?