Skip to main content

Life and Marketing: Nobody Likes a Know-it-All

By
Do you remember when you knew it all? When you had an answer for everything and everyone? If so, you probably recall that you were somewhere between the ages of 13 and 25. By the time you hit your 30's you realize that you know almost nothing - that this universe is much bigger than the human brain. As an adult, each day you are faced with more to learn, to know. As marketing professionals, it is important to make sure that you have knowledge and skill but wisdom to use them effectively. You may be "all tech" but that doesn't mean your customers are. Understanding your audience is as important as understanding your product or service.

Excellence Not Perfection



Marketing is a process. Perfection is associated with completion. As a writer, I laugh at the notion. Perfection refers to a condition that does not need work or continuous improvement. In order to stay current and engage your customers, you need to both. If your marketing plan is finished, your business growth could be finished as well. Last year, I completed work on a successful 5-year program tha helped Michigan businesses succeed. One of my duties was to execute contracts. Many of the contracts were for marketing projects including consultants and web improvements. As bad as Michigan economy had become, many operations still did not have trained marketing and sales staff. So much of our business was previously tied to the auto industry - that, for years, many suppliers did not really need a rigorous marketing plan. Those days are gone and are not coming back. With Social Media, the face and needs of consumers are constantly changing. Excellence should be the only level at which you allow your organization to operate in, but perfection is not only unrealistic but could also be a waste of time. 

Adviser Not Expert

The difference between an adviser versus an expert is not a reflection of knowledge or skills, it is a reflection of expectations and interest. Unless it is your plastic surgeon, the person providing the product or service is not expected to know everything. Fortunately, marketing is a lot more forgiving than the world of plastic surgery. If you already know everything, you lose the opportunity to learn from your customers, readers, or students. Also, in the quest to become the expert, sometimes you can absorb so much knowledge that you start talking and writing like a textbook within your field. This can make customers feel like you are talking above them or belittling their lack of terminology which can hinder communication lines.
"My interest is is in having a relationship with an organization or an individual, one in which we talk about opinions and experience and where I help with potential outcomes, " says Chris Brogan, in his book Social Media 101.

Support Not Dr. Know-it-All

As twenty-twelve begins, so does the implementation of new goals created as resolutions. When starting a new goal, it is important to have a system of support in place. Support comes from different places, for a reason. For instance, nobody wants to be married in witness of all singles. At least some of the crowd needs to have a thriving love, a surviving marriage, some wisdom to impart. Similarly, make sure that when you look for mentors and connections, that you have adequate support within your field from content experts. But, trust yourself as well. Marketing is not an exact science. Being open to suggestions from other organizations and businesses, competitors, readers, students, and customers can hold gems that you won't get from Dr. Know-it-All.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Monday Mornings Can Kill Business

By
Monday mornings come every week; they are just crazy like that. But, did you know that they can kill productivity for the entire week? I didn't know that either -- until I reached the end of my first year in business and realized much of my year had been just a string of bad Monday Mornings . Here are four things I learned over the course of my first year: It Was The Night Before Monday and All Through the House..  Whether you have 3 hours or 15 minutes, a little preparation on Sunday evening can help in big ways on Monday morning. For me, that is often just 15 minutes creating a to-do list or journaling. Laurita Thomas, who is the associate vice president and chief human resource officer at the University of Michigan, spent several hours each Sunday in her office, preparing for the week ahead for the first few years in her position. "I don't do that anymore" said Thomas, "but I do spend time each Sunday evening preparing for the week." Schedule
Post a Comment
Read more

The Purpose of a Vision

By
A Full Moon, taken around midnight on August 1, 2012, several minutes after  it reached its fullest  phase. Have you ever witnessed something so breathtaking that you wanted to capture the image and share it with the world?  At the top of August, I was outside when the moon became Full. It took up the entire sky. Due to street lights and limitations with the photography (lacking proper equipment and skill), I was unable to capture the full glory of the moon. But, whenever I look back at this photograph, I am reminded not only of what I can see in the picture - but the memory of what I saw that night. Similarly, most entrepreneurs and businesses begin with a vision. But one of the key purposes of a vision, is being able to share it. If a business is unable to communicate that vision with stakeholders, prospects, and employees - the purpose is lost. Here are a few necessaries to capture that vision to share with others: Focus - In order to focus, you must be still. If you move
Post a Comment
Read more

3 Sweaty Lessons for the Entrepreneur

By
When the remake of the movie,  Sparkle , arrived to theaters, I had to watch the 1976 version just one more time. This has been a favorite since I first watched it as a teen almost 20 years after it was released. Every time I watch the movie something different stands out. This time that I watched it, I noticed how sweaty Stix, the character played by Philip Michael Thomas, was when he hugged the girls mom. It was at the point that I experienced an epiphany as to why this movie impacted me so much. Here are three sweaty business lessons that I learned from the movie: 1. Sweating is Natural  In Sparkle, when Stix came to Sparkle's debut and hugged her mom he was sweaty. She didn't turn him away. In fact, she gave him a full embrace while in her finest threads. He had made a mistake and she knew it, but he had survived it and she was encouraged.  As a entrepreneur, I have to put in my sweat equity to get my business off the ground. There aren't always casual or ladyl
1 comment
Read more