Real value
One of the most critical components of marketing is plain old empathy. Understanding our market and how our business has the potential to change people’s lives.
You see, my start in marketing was by pure chance. I’d say the only reason I managed to “get away with it” was because I promoted something amazing. I was selling people’s chance to live the life they wanted for themselves as well as their families.
Not everyone has something so literally life-changing to offer. But we all should strive to sell something that has a real impact on the end user.
Specific audience
That brings us to the second most essential aspect of marketing: targeting the right audience.
I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve heard, “Everyone can benefit from my service” or, “My service is the best option for anyone looking for XYZ.” I love the passion… but, quite honestly, that has never been the case for anyone I’ve worked with.
All consumers are different and have varying needs. Consequently, all businesses should cater to different needs. This means going deep rather than wide and leveraging uniqueness over fitting in with the crowds.
Identity over trends
Due to the first two points, I always insist you focus on meaning beyond all-singing, all-dancing trends.
Successful brands, those that connect with and move people, are the ones carrying their message like a badge of honor. No matter what, no matter when.
Awesome brands never compromise their message, values, and goals. Nor do they change their entire identity when the wind changes. Why? Because no one likes a sellout!
Goals build up
Focusing on long-term goals is the best way to stay true to your brand’s identity.
No matter how great a tactic seems on the surface, or how successful it proves for someone else, our criteria shouldn’t flicker.
Achieving marketing goals is about knowing what we want, having a realistic action plan, and sticking to it until results are met, or… until data suggests an alternative path.
Rinse and repeat
Changing the tune can be entertaining, but it won’t necessarily drive results. Marketing has many moving pieces, some of which aren’t even close to controllable.
Observations can be more circumstantial than consequential. Some excellent results might not be repeatable, and some epic fails could have seemed fine on paper.
Repeating similar tactics and testing small variants is more effective (and useful) than reinventing the wheel on a whim.
Stats don’t lie
The more we hype something, the more suspicious we should be about our judgment.
Subjectivity is the worst enemy of strategy. When building a brand and its marketing campaigns, we need to look at results over time and how they play into our overarching goals.
We’ve got to look at the big picture and focus on the path that goes upwards long term. Historic data is all that matters when predicting where your story should go next.
