Lots of Ways2Learn

I haven’t always been a marketing expert.

No, I haven’t. It’s taken years of observing, stumbling (at times), succeeding, building and developing to become one. It’s been decades of engagement in the advertising, communications, and marketing industry.

Nothing against the communications and marketing programs at colleges and universities…I’ve had the opportunity to address many students and have met with many interesting professors and teachers. Marketing theory is important and the studies released by those types of experts lead a lot of activity and drive many behaviors. It’s interesting stuff.

It’s just that I’ve found, as helpful as that information is, the axiom about rubber meeting the road really drives much more of our plans and the efforts we put in place to build our client’s brands, traffic, and sales. Theories are good, but practical seems to work even better for the medium and small sized organizations we typically work so closely with.

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How are we going to sell more of this, bring more people to that, or tell our patients, customers, or clients we are now doing this new thing?  Those are the practical questions most businesses are really asking.  And those are the types of questions we work hard to solve with marketing (and advertising and communications).

The Lesson4Business

Unlike so many types of industries, it’s not the acquisition of knowledge that helps clients win the battle for top of mind awareness. It’s what you do with that information and how strong your resolve is to stick with it when times get tough or challenges arrive.

Anyone can read books or listen to Podcasts. But does that really make them a marketing expert?

A marketing expert knows the foundational principals that drive business, can communicate them, can create a plan to reach them, and can execute the plan. The marketing expert knows challenges will come and temptations to cut or change the plan (before it may be time to cut or change) the plan will come. They’ll prepare for that and even plan for it, too. Knowledge does help. Experience is even more important.

Like I said, I wasn’t always a marketing expert.