My friend Mark Schaefer has written another brilliant book called The Marketing Rebellion. What he describes is a compelling story based on market research and insights from his years of business experiences. It is a must-read book for those who work in marketing today and are trying to make sense of the incredibly rapid changes taking place. I have shared Mark’s books with many clients and friends and urge you to get a copy. Mark’s writing has wisdom, humanity, and a sense of humor.
Although I agree with Mark’s thesis, I think the word I would have used to describe the phenomena Mark calls a rebellion is an awakening.
Yes, it is a subtle difference, but from my experience, I am finding clients and businesses I observe and work with are awakenings to realize the need to do things differently.
In my view, they aren’t rebelling and resisting, but they are beginning to open their eyes to new possibilities. I see more awakening, like Rip Van Winkle in the marketing world than rebels like Jack, from Jack in the Beanstalk.
- To awaken means to become aware of something suddenly.
- A rebellion means the process of resisting authority, control, or convention.
I am not finding resistance from the people I meet asking for marketing advice, help, and guidance. Instead, I see people opening up to a new awareness. They freely share that their advertising is no longer working, and they wonder if their approach to marketing isn’t breaking through.
In my marketing consulting practice, clients now realize that they can no longer do the things they have relied upon in the past. Without a different center of gravity, they know they are going to stay stuck in slow growth and with competitive threats surrounding them.
Some examples:
- One client has awakened to the fact that his marketing message was undifferentiated and filled with features about what he did, leaving out the benefits of how he helps customers. He described to me that he is coming to understand a new way to think about how to market his services. His exact words were, I feel like I’m waking up to a new reality. My competitors have almost all the same features that I have – I need to find a new angle.
- Another client was experiencing zero growth for the last three years and told me that he feels like his organization was asleep back in 2004. He said that he thinks about the marketing discussions we have been having like coffee, that is jolting him out of a fog. He said that we feel a new sense of purpose and energy around some alternative marketing approaches we are exploring.
- I did some consulting for a larger brand, and their VP of Marketing told me; he is trying to get his executive team to wake up. They, too, have been in an Ambien-induced state of expecting new results from the same activities. His words, not mine – “they have been asleep at the wheel and need a caffeinated intervention.” The senior leaders aren’t rebelling, but through my client’s intervention – starting to awaken to a different business reality.
Humans
Mark’s marketing philosophy, like mine, is humanity centric. Start with people and work your strategy from there. Mark tells the story at the beginning of the book about a local soap company. If I recall correctly, he learned about it from his daughter-in-law. When he asked her what she loved about the brand – she said, “I don’t love the brand, but I love the hands that made this soap.”
When Mark spoke several years ago at a wine marketing conference, I organized, his message at the time was about content shock, another book of his worth reading. Here is a link to Mark’s original blog post on this topic.
He was talking about the tsunami of content that was vying for the attention of both consumers and business. Earlier books by Mark like the Tao of Twitter also demonstrate his superpower as an educator with insight and heart.
We both deeply believe in the importance of being more human in everything we do. In Mark’s writing and hilarious podcast called The Marketing Companion, he rebels against marketing automation and how ineffective old school techniques and tactics are today.
Whether it’s a rebellion or an awakening, at the core of what we both see in the market place requires a new and different set of tools to be successful. Read Mark’s book or listen to his podcast to learn his perspective, but here are my simple truths that I believe about marketing in 2019.
Sage Advice
- First, know the community you want to serve. Understand an audience’s needs, their desires, their dreams. Social channels are windows into your prospect’s lives.
- Create differentiated products and services that people want to talk about to others in the community. Let them help market your value and difference.
- Be patient. Seeds take time before you can pick their fruit.
- Attention is the most challenging thing to receive from a potential customer. Make sure when you get their attention, you are unbelievably helpful.
- Don’t do what everyone in your category does. Finds something to shine a light on that is new, fresh, and exciting.
- Think strategically first. Don’t throw marketing spaghetti at the wall hoping something sticks.
- Focus on finding a small, minimal viable audience to serve, don’t try and conquer the universe. Get a small group of people and clients to fall in love with your work. If they love it, they’ll share it with others like them, and you’ll see things grow.
Whether you describe this as a rebellion or an awakening, the marketing world is experiencing rapid change. When you start with a human, personal approach to your marketing strategy and tactics, you can find a path forward to earn the attention of those you seek to serve.
Are you witnessing a rebellion or an awakening in your marketing universe?
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com The conversation is free, and we can explore working together.
Photo of Mark Schaefer and his book courtesy of Knoxville News Sentinel
