The Marketing Bible

Today's marketing musings are prompted by an atypical source, the Book of James from the Bible.  In the third chapter of James, is the following passage:

"From the same mouth come blessings and cursing.  ...[T]his ought not to be so.  Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?  Can a fig tree...yield olives, or a grapevine figs?  No more can salt water yield fresh."  James 3: 10-12

I am not sure that religious leaders or Biblical scholars will agree with me, but when I read that, I get a very clear marketing message.

What James was saying was you have to speak with one consistent voice.  In theological terms, that means issue blessings or curses, but not both.  In marketing terms, that means you cannot be the low cost provider to one market segment but a value added provider to another.  In the 80's, Peters and Waterman referred to this phenomenon as "sticking to the knitting" in their book, In Search of Excellence.  A few hundred years earlier, Shakespeare indicated the same thing when he wrote "to thine own self be true."

Especially in today's marketplace where organizations and marketers can't control the message as much as manage it, it is important to have a consistency of message.  Furthermore, in this cynical age, if your consistent message isn't based on reality, consumers WILL see through the charade.  The challenge for the business communicator these days isn't to "spin" the message (a term that I think all reputable communicators should eschew) but to craft a truthful and sustainable message.

James continues his writings saying primarily the same thing.

"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?  Let him shew out of a good conversations his works with meekness of wisdom.  But if ye have bitter envying and strive in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth."     James 3:13-14

Good marketing, it turns out, is common sense.  You can find marketing inspiration in many places, even a good book!

Helping Others

"We are here on Earth to help others.  What the others are here for I have no idea."   W. H. Auden

When I have the opportunity, I make time for students who are interested in pursuing my particular line of work.  I do the same with colleagues who are in-between jobs or looking for new marketing adventures.  When I talk with students and job seekers, I talk with them about their dreams, reveal some of the practical realities of the marketing world as I understand it, share what knowledge I might have in their hoped for specialty, and encourage their pursuits.

I also always get much more out of the conversation than they do.  Here are some of the reasons why:

• Enthusiasm is contagious.  Those of you who have been kicking around in your chosen field for 25+ years, as I have, understand how valuable a shot of enthusiasm can be to how you approach your day.  I am inspired by the excitement that many of the young people I talk with have at the prospect of actually working in marketing and communications.  The same is true for someone who is working hard to find an opportunity in the field.  There is often some ideal or dream that is driving them to seek this line of work.  I find that rejuvenating and renewing.
• I usually learn more from the conversation than the person I am talking with does.  If I am talking with someone who has recently been in college, I learn what issues are being emphasized in academia, what ideas are sparking the imagination of those coming into the marketplace, and which of my dusty, stodgy marketing concepts still have resonance in the emerging marketing landscape.
• When I talk with colleagues who are involved in a job search, I get a sense of what is happening in the marketing worlds of other industries.  How are they adapting to the pressures of social media?  What are they doing with marketing budgets, and staffs?  How has the influence and importance of marketing changed in those industries over the last few years.  While certainly I can get some sense of all of this by reading the literature, there is a nuance and a truth from personal experiences that don't often make it into formal interviews and articles.
• Mentoring someone who is on a job search, whether it is for their first job or their last, is the most elemental form of networking.  Like Blanche DuBois, when I have been looking for a job I have relied on the kindness of strangers.  I think it is only fair then to be receptive when someone finds their way to my doorstep looking for similar kindness.  
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is an element of paying it forward in mentorship.  I have received career help from others, at the start and during mid-course corrections. As I tell those who I try to help, the best way to repay those kindnesses is to provide them yourself when the opportunity presents itself.  It feels right; it feels good; and its pretty good karma!  

As Auden states in the quote at the top of this page, we are here to help others.  I encourage you to be a mentor whenever you can.  Don't be one of the others!

Knowing Why

The other day, a colleague said something profound to me.  He said, "Those that know how work for those that know why."

It is a simple explanation of the difference between advertising and marketing, managers and leaders, doing and creating.

As Simon Sinek says in his inspiring  TED Talk on how great leaders inspire action, people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.  If you understand why, you hold the keys to what makes business, or really any organization, work.

Understanding why, is what makes someone a leader.  Communicating why is what makes someone an inspirational leader!  Great leaders inspire us because they talk about their beliefs.  Their why.  They inspire us through connecting with the beliefs that we share with them.  As Mr. Sinek points out, Martin Luther King, gave the "I have a dream" speech, not the "I have a plan" speech.

Figure out why.


Watch Simon Sinek's TED Talk here.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html