MARKETING - Who are we doing this for? (3)
The all encompassing function of using creative, brand, media and products to sell more stuff. Great. It's for the buyer, it’s for the seller, but most importantly, what's in it for you, the marketer?
First things first. A note of gratitude. I’m writing this July one after the first 18 months of doing Front Of Mind, and I appreciate the support and kindness many of you have shown. It’s also important to me that it makes a positive impact on small businesses or marketing professionals, both on their professional results and their mental wellbeing and smarts, of which there are hundreds around the world, and they can (re) learn some marketing stuff, and most importantly they can enjoy reading, learning, and most importantly doing what they do, living the good life.
Secondly I will level with you. I’m having a bit of a ‘head elsewhere’ few weeks. A little less chatting on socials. Less writing or conversational output. I almost didn’t write this month but you’re not here for that. Honestly right now, going through some life stuff, back in UK to the humbling realities; the process of looking into house buying for a self-employed individual by the way is akin to pulling your teeth with the hope of a 4 berth tent at the other end. Furthermore, having been travelling a lot I have accumulated somewhat of a to do list that is never ending. Part ADHD, part procrastination, part I am on my own so I must maximise marketing opps, part I must do everything I think of. I guess it has culminated in an overwhelm and honestly a sort an indifference of industry at times. Newsflash, I definitely do not always love what I do, and neither will/should you. It is OK. Life happens. We oscillate and resurface!
What I’m saying is, and what spurns today’s - we have a 40-50 year lifespan for work, to do what we do and getting value out of our finite lives. It is important we do what we do for good reason, we do it as well as we can, we enjoy it and we generally enjoy the ride and the people along the way. Nobody will be on their death bed wishing they negotiated a higher pay rise or that they took over an empire and worked with awful people in the process. Just remember life ensues, not pursues. No need to find-your-why or your big purpose, just find your thing you enjoy and makes you happy.
To this end, I throw up 3 horsemen of marketing we need to be mindful of as we do what we do and work out why we are doing it. The Customer who buys, The Brand who sells, and The You who does the stuff!
#1. THE CUSTOMER
The main one in terms of what the work ends up being. Whatever we do in marketing, (which, as covered in multiple articles, is the overall process of helping companies sell more) is ultimately about creating and socialising products and services that people will buy. Individuals. Businesses. Online Visitors. Not for Profit Orgs. Parents. Scale-ups. In the pre-singularity foreseeable, the aforementioned are human beings. Like you.
Research what the buyer wants, create products that are needed, desired and solve their problem, and price accordingly with your brand position/market. The branding, the packaging, the look and feel for what they like. The ads that are memorable, catchy and create memory structure between ad and product, be physically available for them to buy it when they need it, and be consistent so they can remember who you are. These customers don’t have journeys or funnels as we wish, they do random stuff when they like. Frameworks and forecasts aside, there is a lot of happenstance.
Proper marketing of the 4Ps increases the odds, but remember - YOU ARE ONE OF THESE CUSTOMERS, unless you can hand on heart say you have never made random or emotional in-the-moment purchase, and have only followed funnels, or clicked on an ad and bought straight away to placate vendor attribution, you might want to start thinking about who is buying it and how. A memorable, liked, AND needed product will sell. By memorable, don’t expect much headspace either for it, just be there when it matters. They really do not care about you or your brand story, your plan, your product, sorry. Just be there when it matters.
#2. THE BRAND
Let’s assume a 40 year career again, probably in the current crisis that’s optimistic. But even then assuming a slack 30 hour-ish week, just 46 weeks a year (sorry US readers!), that’s still 55,000 hours of your life you will never get back. If someone gave you £/$55k out of the blue, I bet you would put some away, give some to family, pay down a credit card, sort out that pesky side door or maybe book a nice trip.
Think of your hours like currency. How will you spend it?
Working with brands it is important they serve you as much as you serve them. I have had a squiggly career. A few jobs (great jobs, just different businesses), sell side and agency and now brand side, even more so since starting Archmon about 13,000 working hours ago. I used to get so much shit for job hopping in interviews and to this day there’s old colleges who I am sure look down their nose at my varietal nature, but it made me the experienced marketer I am today (and the ADHD I know I now have probably made that!). But the main thing for me was finding 3 things, a thing I could enjoy doing/selling (e.g. a great media company doing good or a brand selling a great product), working with people who I like/learn from and doing good work (early days it was about moving for more money, but I can categorically confirm that is not the answer early in career. learning over cash every time kids!). We all have our own things, but work out what it is you need from a brand. Also if you are thirsty for growth and personal development. Do they support this?
Likewise, accountability matters; ask yourself soe serious questions. What are you offering this brand, do you have a rounded, experienced marketing background that will add value to your organisations? Will you be able to do good work? Will you be frustrated and in turn frustrate others? Are you self deceiving? Can you do the job and can you learn the gaps if needed? Are you willing to challenge yourself?
If it is a safe, steady job that is predictable and does not overly push you out of your comfort zone, it could be your perfect job, it could be your worst nightmare. There is no right or wrong answer. I think we laud too much the career climber or the Hollywood moves, but it really is OK to do your job, enjoy and go home. I (usually)love my work, but I find it more a work-to-live not live-to-work so much (note, going alone requires all encompassing early days, more on this another time). I work to live, travel, eat and to enjoy. Living to work, works for some, but in the main it really is overrated.
#3. THE YOU
The main event. The bit you really care about, be honest. Being the best marketer you can be. Remember though, Life is short, as my Stoic buddies would often cite.
There is no right or wrong answer in how to live your life and pursue your career. There need be no imposter syndrome, just self awareness and embracing of difference and each of our ‘sharp knives’. There are folk like me who grew up as media guys and are more marketing generalist with media specialisms (who are less glamourous than my Saatchi counterparts but we have value). I have ‘competitors’ I guess who are brand strategists by trade, or creatives by trade, or digital by trade. Client side experiences too, which are very valuable but not necessarily the only way. I think we all come from varying background, both career path and socio-demographics, but this mosaic of talent is what makes the industry good. To all be the same non distinct as a worker would be the antithesis of marketing and being memorable, right?
I have to say also, that comparison and ego are big things and sadly huge in our industry. I have seen marketing legends and gurus fight with each other online about who is more scientific and right. It is absolutely ridiculous. Nobody is going to get a Nobel piece prize or a plaque in the Smithsonian by building a %ge YoY growth of dishwasher tablet sales, but the way the industry fights over who is more right is actually embarrassing. We are not in the playground. We are not changing the world either, we are just helping brands sell more stuff.
How about this? We all use category/relevant findings evidence, combined with the circumstance of job/brand/ask, to do the best job we can? Also, how about a world where there are a few rights, and it is not always binary. Yes, remain circumspect about faddy trends and dogma and Front of Mind has always reaffirmed, but especially in early days of a brand or role, dogma is not your buddy, general and nuanced principles are, combined with decent ideas. Honestly, maybe it is because I am turning 40 next month, but the whole thing sometimes makes me want to shut the laptop indefinitely, get a loan and open a farm shop in my home county. Then I can use all these theories on locals who want a Lincolnshire sausage sandwich. That’s the real focus group.
FINAL THOUGHT : Pick Your Horse
To close and to level with you, this was written for my self-therapeutic and cathartic benefit as much as it is/was for yours. I too am starting to re-ask myself these questions more. Whether it is the 9-end age thing, the harrowing process of looking into mortgages or something else, the questions are useful regardless. How do I want my small consultancy to develop. What kind of clients do I want and why am I doing what I do? Amongst the noise of Sustainability, AI and Threads, combines with brand growth cockfights and corporate bullshit, it is totally OK to feel overwhelmed by the incessant noise and eventually feel indifferent after a while. But take a step back, remember why you do what you do, think about the end buyer, the brand you are working with, and find the joy in it; there’s only a few thousand hours of it left!
SA
Footnote: I don’t usually do this but was blown away by the response and kindness/shares of my last article, possibly the handiest one yet for the tiny businesses. Please share the below/read if you haven’t already:
P.S. I really hope you are getting a semblance of value out of this. If so, and you think any other marketer or business owner would, feel free to share/forward this to them. Also, follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter or even my company page. If you want to discuss working together, or simply something I’ve said, drop me a line. Thanks and happy reading/marketing!