What Is Marketing Supposed To Do Anyway?

MarketingFrom a Harvard Business Review article, “Why CMOs NEVER Last”:

Something is amiss in the relationship between chief executives and their marketing officers. Four-fifths of CEOs say they don’t trust or are unimpressed by their CMOs. Not surprisingly, CMOs have the briefest tenure in the C-suite, and their churn can mean serious internal business disruptions.

The articles goes on to argue this is mostly due to the job description and expectations being set up poorly.

I don’t entirely disagree; however, I have studied advertising and marketing and methinks the BIGGER issue is that marketers have drifted, forgetting that marketing is about SELLING THINGS – not followers, fans, likes, shares or hashtags.

To be clear, we HERE, in THIS community, are committed to the discipline of direct response marketing.

The key differentiator of it over all other forms of advertising and branding is MEASUREMENT: measurement of actual responses, leads and ULTIMATELY sales made, clients acquired.

Everything else is “fake news,” leading you to confuse activity with accomplishment.

We can NOT operate in a world where awards are given for creativity, nor can we be lulled into false happiness with circulation numbers in publications, hashtags, Nielsen ratings in broadcast, the number of followers on Facebook, visitors to our website, etc.

WE do not care about any of that.

We care about “old” metrics like profits and revenue.

Every guru who links themselves to a new media must invent their own metrics to try and persuade you to look elsewhere for success.

A magician’s illusion to draw your eye away from what’s really going on.

In fact, if any marketing or advertising mystic tries to convince you THEIR deal cannot be measured and held to strict ROI metrics, RUN.

I’m often made fun of because of my heavy use of direct mail, always by people who are not successful advertisers, who do not know the actual numbers, who consider me dull and dated.

Grow up.

Being one of the “cool kids” and doing what’s new and shiny won’t make you rich.

I know we’re only two months into this NEW year, but let me keep reminding you of the “old school” fundamentals that work.

RELATED: If you want to know the REAL metrics you should be watching like a hawk, and how to improve them then watch the Free Webcast “The Ultimate Marketing System For IT Service Sales.” Click Here Now To Reserve Your Spot

Related Posts

Grow Your MSP’s Revenue By 56% With This 3-Step Growth Strategy 

If you’re like most MSPs doing over $250K in revenue, you’ve probably asked this question at least once: “How do we get more leads?” 

The 5 Easy Answers Top MSPs Use To Close More Sales 

Many MSPs are walking a tightrope without a safety net. They’re cobbling together clients through word-of-mouth and referrals. That strategy works, until your

Ready To Write Your Own Success Story?

Download the Ultimate Free Marketing Guide and take the first step.