At a recent conference for media techies and internet design moguls, I heard a "supposed" business expert and opinion leader (someone I know personally) say with great authority, "MARKETING IS DEAD!
To hear him say that makes me wonder if he really knows what marketing (new marketing or old) is-which is to create awareness (or to tell a story in order to create awareness). In my more than 30 years of working in business settings, I realize that droves of people never really understood marketing, even before the new media and the high-powered acceptance of the Internet came along. Scores of business owners and marketing experts alike thought marketing was tv, radio, newspaper, and phone book advertising, or showing up once a month to a networking lunch, or simply doing a few business-related activities that got checked-off from a list.
Many of today's so-called marketing "gurus", who are now forced to factor the internet into their consulting practices, will give you the new list:
- Create a website
- Get setup for online sales
- Use search engine optimization (SEO- and they probably don't even understand SEO themselves)
Do some online advertising (just switch from t.v and radio ads to online "stuff")
- Oh, and make sure you are doing your share of email marketing, too!
Hey, I am not knocking these things, and they have their place of importance, but many marketers-even the ones who embrace The New Marketing items on the new types of lists- are still missing the boat big time-missing the big picture-just like they did in the past, only now, even the big picture is different!
They didn't understand marketing then, so why should we expect them to understand The New Marketing now? The scary part is, many of the people saying things like "marketing is dead" are the very people "coaching" you on how to have a successful business. Entrepreneurs beware!
Listen, I don't care if marketing as we once knew it turns into a big orange blob and falls off a corner of the earth, marketing in its truest sense will never be dead.
Marketing is still the art of building awareness, and it still involves everything you are and everything you do. HOWEVER, the RULES definitely have changed---NO-the GAME has changed as well as the rules!
What I do agree with in terms of what is dead is any business that tries to apply New Media tactics and strategies to an old business model, especially one that didn't ever work in the past (trying to get Facebook and their blogs to work to make their old, stale business models fly). Like I say lately whenever I give a talk on New Marketing (quoting from an old but fitting saying and tweaking it to fit the day we are in),
You can't teach an old dog new tricks... You need a new dog (or a brain transplant for your old one)!
That new dog is your new, revised business model. In today's world, you must redesign your business so that the new marketing strategies will work to catapult you into success. It is not enough to apply all the new toys and gadgets of the online world (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, interactive websites) to the old way of doing business and the old way of thinking. You must restructure the very foundation of your business so it works in today's climate and culture. The good news is that you can!
The first step is understanding your customers and how technology has them thinking differently nowadays. You must know that they are connected to friends and colleagues like never before, and that they are savvy and smart and cutting edge. NEVER think your customers can be duped!
Spend your time creating friends and "community spokespersons" that are thrilled with what you offer them and excited to tell others through face-to-face opportunities, and more importantly, through new "virtual word of mouth outlets". You do this by being amazing and remarkable-by going the extra mile and caring FOR REAL, by creating meaningful relationships, by giving things that were not asked for, and by standing behind everything you say, do, and sell. You also do this be being imaginative and finding ways to tickle your customers pink (which will ultimately tickle your wallet green), and you do all of this because it is the right thing to do. The money follows.
I have so much to say about The New Marketing, but start with the basics. Make your business amazing by being the company people remark to each other about. Then as you establish the communication channels and micro-communities- both online and off- where your clients and prospects will talk and interact with each other (and I can help you do this), you give them something to shout about, and good news they are eager to share on their virtual communication channels. That is the beginning of growing a business. Start there, and I will have much more for you in the weeks and months to come.
About Margarett DeGange: Margarett DeGange, M.Ed. is a Business and Design Coach in the Home Fashions Industry and contributing editor to FURNITURE WORLD Magazine. She creates and delivers custom training programs for managed businesses and their sales consultants to help them communicate better with customers and increase sales and profits. Margarett is a Writer and Professional Speaker, and the President of The DeGangi Group and The DeGangi School of Interior Decoration, with both on sight and on-line courses in Interior Decorating, Marketing, and Redesign. For almost 20 years she has helped individual and managed business owners in the interior fashions and decorating industries to earn more while fully enjoying the process. Her website is www.DeGangiGroup.com. Send email and questions to Margarett DeGange at Margarett@furninfo.com