Tough Market Needs Tougher Marketers

It is a comforting thought that if you do your best, work hard, and can attribute results to your efforts, that you will be rewarded and have a good level of security in today's tumultuous economy. However, that comforting thought may not be reality.

Last week I joined the ranks of many qualified marketers who have recently found themselves laid off. After four years with my last employer (almost to the day) I was told my position was being cut. Though I was disappointed and surprised, I wasn't dismayed. I knew that I've spent my time developing a solid resume and network that will -- hopefully -- see me through this employment gap and on to my next role with another company.

What this situation reminds me of, however, is the need for marketers to be tougher than the times they face. It is very easy for marketing professionals to rest on past accomplishments, go at the pace of their competition, or even lag behind in their own learning and education. Rather, marketers need to lock down those new skills on a regular basis, constantly review their work for better ROI opportunities, and innovate their strategies and tactics so that they lead the competition rather than walk alongside or fall behind.

Tough economic times call for tougher marketers -- professionals who have resumes packed full of quantifiable results. Even in the toughest of times, businesses still need good marketing people. In fact, in those tough times they need marketing professionals who have delivered solid results in the past with a brand promise of repeating those results in the future.

If you've found yourself out of a job in these tough times, what are you doing to ensure your marketability is high, and that you're a preferred candidate for the jobs you're applying for?

-- David Kinard, PCM

Jack Trout on Marketing's Mess

There are few in marketing who can legitimately claim guru status – people who early on shaped the way most of how marketing has practiced for decades. Well, I have the privilege of interviewing one of them in my AMA radio show on Wednesday, Sept 24 -- Jack Trout. One of his earlier works, almost 30 years ago, defined how companies approached market leadership. Soon his next book will hope to correct some of the mistakes that he feels we’ve been making since then.

That seminal book I refer to above is Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Well, Jack has written a new book called In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today's Marketing Mess and he’s taking marketers and companies to task for creating a complex mess out of something that should be, well, obvious.

Be sure to listen to the show live and even call in with your own question. If you're one of the first five callers, you can get a free copy of his book.

Check out the Marketing News Radio program at: There are few in marketing who can legitimately claim guru status – people who early on shaped the way most of how marketing has practiced for decades. With me today is one of those people. One of his earlier works almost 30 years ago defined how companies approached market leadership, and soon his next book will hope to correct some of the mistakes that he feels we’ve been making.

With me today is author and consultant Jack Trout. That seminal book I was talking about is Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Well, Jack has written a new book called In Search of the Obvious and he’s taking marketers and companies to task for creating a complex mess out of something that should be, well, obvious.

Be sure to listen live to Marketing News Radio on September 24 at 9 a.m. PST. If you're one of the first five callers you can get a free copy of his book. Also, be sure to check out the archives of the show for other incredible interviews.

The Accidental Marketer

There is a great movie called The Accidental Tourist (1988) starring Gina Davis and William Hurt. It's about a guy who is a travel book writer. Though he doesn't realize it in the beginning, he's written about how to travel with minimal impact and fuss. As a result, the traveler ends up going to amazing places without letting what they're experiencing really make an impact. There's far more to the story, but this is the part I wanted to eek out in my first blog entry.

It's easy for us marketers to go through the motions of marketing and not really make an assessment of what we're doing. When we fall into this rut, this routine, we end up not letting our marketing impact us, teach us, change us. We become stagnant, valueless drains on our organizations and deserve the criticism of being cost centers, repetitive, and meaningless.

I've taken a long, hard look back at the last two years of my life. Each is so different from the other. Two years ago I fell into a rut, becoming complacent and giving up. Organizational mindsets toward the role of marketing vary and for me I had four bosses in four years all with very different views. Rather than be tossed by the whims of this executive only to have them replaced by another made it easy to minimize my input, thus minimizing my impact.

But this last year I began the journey of taking back the mantle of what good marketing is and what marketing should be. I've done away with the complacency and have reenergized myself. Yep, its pretty much a daily struggle sometimes, but one that is worthwhile because there is power in what we do. As marketers we weild powerful tools to shape opinions, promote ideas, sell value, and build empires.

Thus, the beginning of MarketAbility -- the blog about how marketing and the real world collide, and what to do when it happens.

Let the journey begin.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Welcome to Marketability -- Marketing in Real Life

I am starting this blog with the idea of sharing information with everyday marketers about real life marketing. The idea came to me when I heard a CEO say for the hundredth time, “My friend’s company is doing XYZ and growing by 300% a quarter! We should do that too!” Well, it’s a two-edged deal to hear glamorous stories about another company’s success, or look at Apple and their marketing machine and think that you too should have those same results. It’s two-edged because the success is so appealing and the path looks so easy, but that same success is almost impossible to replicate into another company. Sure there are best practices and lesson to learn, but duplication is a mirage chased after by the ignorant.

My entire marketing career has been about distinguishing and differentiating, not duplicating. I hope that in these entries you’ll find value in the form of originality and clarity, not a carrot dangling out in front of you leading you to an imaginary treasure. Marketing must be rooted in reality and that reality is controlled by consumers not marketers. We exist to serve.

So marketers – go forward with real-life marketing. Do good work, challenge yourselves, and make sure you learn something new every week. Here’s to you and the journey you’re now taking.

-- David Kinard, PCM