There used to be passion in marketing. You could see it in the eyes and smiles of people working in this field. It was hard work but so much fun. There have always been long working hours in marketing because you cannot precisely plan creative processes in terms of allocated time, but in the end the whole effort used to pay off. Because many times, in the end, the magic happened and everybody was happy and fulfilled. The moment when the campaign was ready and ”in the air”. When tens or even hundreds of deliverables were done (yes, working with big volumes has always been a constant in marketing), checked three times, integrated in the timeline and send to the media channels split based on specific audiences. That moment when everybody was tired, but also relieved and happy. Happy that we yet again did our best. Despite the occasional never ending discussions between the communication and the media, the copywriter and the art (visual), the integrator and the specialist. Each of them with specific angles and points of view. But the debates were part of the process, needed, and also the spice and flavour of it. Part of the creation of magic. And then we just had to wait for the results. And 99% of the time the results came. Important to mention though that those results were not necessarily measured in sales, but maybe in some other specific marketing indicators (declined from the specific marketing objectives that we had too reach), such as traffic (store or web), awareness and buzz, creating specific interest or consideration.
If you would have asked a person some time ago why she or he wants to work in marketing, the answer was usually one of these: So I can do strategy or I can do creative stuff. Of course both of these required heavy learning, but the commitment and desire were the starting point. Backed up by some talent and resilience (although we didn’t know this word back then :))).
But now, the spark that was once there has completely faded from the eyes of marketers. They are most of the times drained, working under tremendous pressure, with no clear direction or focus. Many of them told me that they feel like they’re searching for a path in the dark and hoping to reach the light. Some told me that they seriously consider quitting marketing, as it becomes more and more an impossible job. It’s like a never ending race for finishing hundreds of tasks, navigating through social media posts, stories, reels, to have or not to have Tiktok, why is PPC not working and what kind of magic idea shall we put in practice. Changing direction so fast that you cannot keep track of it. Working and working but not feeling any satisfaction, as it becomes so difficult now to link that work with results. Results that are usually measured in direct sales, because there is pressure on business from everywhere.
And that’s actually one of the biggest problems. Marketing getting too complicated and the challenge to link it to the money outcome. And the truth is that the link is still there, but not that direct, as there are some other stations on the way to sales that need to be measured and correlated. And that’s the science of the marketing strategy, which becomes more and more fiction (science fiction!). And if that understanding is missing, the poor marketing person creating reels and posts and banners all day long will never know what they’re doing wrong.
And on the other side we have entrepreneurs or some managers that are not specialized in marketing and don’t really know what that means, that have such unrealistic expectations. They expect things like preparing a campaign in 2 days, starting it the 3rd day and then see the money coming in on the 4th day. And then they become millionaires, sell the business, make an exit and live happily ever after on a white sand island.
Sooo…..how did we get here? How did we get to have such a discrepancy between marketing effort and perceived / wished results? Here are the main reasons that I see:
- The macro factors and crisis that force companies to adapt and accelerate pace to a rhythm that doesn’t allow much space and time for establishing direction and/or growing/developing people to a senior level, able to manage and coordinate properly marketing activities
- The digitalisation in the form of exploding digital channels, that all require specific approach and materials/deliverables. All these have the tendency to occupy all the time of marketing people, who find themselves lost in the digital forest, without the capacity or the energy to rise and fly above it, and see the big picture
- The digitalisation in the form of making all the digital channels accessible to everyone (digital democratisation), fact that also encouraged entrepreneurship to rise with an increasing number of start-ups, by creating the false impression that having a minimal digital presence would be just enough for the business to grow. The hard truth is that entering the digital channels is easy, but maintaing that and generating growth is a total different story. The logic is simple: the channels allow everyone to be there, but their audience is still the same, limited to same amount of people that are increasingly bombarded by the ”presence” of many companies / startups / entities that are fighting for their attention.
- The lack of marketing strategic thinking as such, which tends to diminish or even vanish compared to the increasing number of businesses. As the specialised know how doesn’t grow / evolve with the same pace as entrepreneurial field.
Of course there are many other points to be added, and I am very open to find out your points of view here.
Having all these in mind, I have made the decision to create a system that will facilitate marketing strategic thinking to spread and get back its fundamental role to support the business. This is called MARKETING UPGRADE and it’s a mentorship programme of 16 weeks, starting October till February. It comprises both theoretical and practical work, with full support on applying on specific cases of the participants. It is dedicated to marketing specialists that want to upgrade their career, to managers that want to improve their skills and abilities, and to entrepreneurs that need to coordinate marketing in a professional way (given the case of not having a marketing manager or coordinator).
And since the magic always require people and working together, the first module of the programme, which is STRATEGIC THINKING, is followed by 2 more modules, one dedicated to LEADERSHIP and working with people on 3 levels (above, peers and below), explaining and negotiating (mandatory skills for a marketing coordinator), and another one to MANAGEMENT, as organising people and tasks is the dusty part that you need to excel to, in order to get the magic in place.
So if you think that fits you, drop me a dm or fill into the form on the MARKETING UPGRADE programme page. Or if you think it’s for somebody else, be so kind and recommend it. And if you’ve read it up to here, there is a chance that you resonate with what I’ve wrote, so a share might help as well.
Let’s give marketing back the power and the role of creating magic to support growth!
