Share this post:
I was speaking with a potential client, the other day, explaining how Cucumber can help his organization grow, when he said: “Marketing is such a vague term these days.”
This made me think.
Does this mean that it’s confusing what marketing brings to the table these days? Or does this mean that the very definition of marketing has changed over the years, that today it became such a vague term?
Marketing, indeed, has changed over the years, its role, however, hasn’t. Let’s see how.
Change is the only constant in life.
If we don’t change, we get stuck in our old behaviour and habits, which prevents us from growth. It happens to all of us personally and it happens to businesses, too.
To reverse the formula above:
Is it time for your organization to see what has changed in your business or marketing environment, that has affected your business, but you, perhaps, haven’t responded to that change yet?
Change 1. Marketing is accessible
This change is a blessing and a curse. Marketing is accessible – everyone is a marketer these days, won’t you say? If you have an active Instagram account, does that make you a marketer?
Absolutely not. As Malcolm Gladwell pointed out you need to spend at least 10,000 hours to become an expert in anything you do. There are two ways to get there – studying and doing.
Yes, your marketing assistant can run your Google Ads account.
No, it’s not rocket science.
Yes, it will be more efficient, productive and cost-effective to hire experts to do this for you, so your marketing team can focus on other daily tasks, you can’t outsource.
Don’t get blinded by the shiny promises of marketing, that it’s easy and accessible. Running a Google Ads account and running a successful Google Ads account could be something that prevents your business from growth.
| Pros: If you have time, you can spend it on learning marketing and do it yourself. Cons: There’s an illusion that marketing is easy and everyone can do it. Meditate on this: Am I cutting corners in my marketing strategy? |
Change 2. Marketing is affordable
Do you know what happened in September, 21 years ago?
Everything changed. Google was born!
Hiring a marketing agency used to be a luxury, not every business could afford. With Google, everything changed – you are no longer at the mercy of a “media buying department”. Even a startup without a steady revenue flow (yet) can invest a reasonable amount of money to hire a marketing agency for their branding, web design and ongoing marketing support needs.
This is great, right? Generally speaking yes, but don’t let this create an illusion that if you pay your marketing agency, they will solve all of your revenue problems.
Let’s think about it. Who could afford a marketing agency 20-30 years ago?
Large organizations with big marketing budgets.
And who can afford to hire a marketing agency today – virtually anyone, who is willing to spend at least $20,000 on their marketing per year.
When those large organizations came to a marketing agency, they would have a ton of research done internally already. Market analysis, target audience research, selling proposition, etc. With marketing being affordable these days, it is easy to slip into the notion of marketing bringing sales immediately the moment you turn on your Google Ads or start posting fun stories on Instagram.
I wish it worked like that. But it doesn’t.
Cool Tip:
When hiring a marketing agency, don’t be afraid to share your budget with them – this will help them to find the most effective way to spend your budget. Naturally, first, find a marketing agency you can trust.
| Pros: Even a smaller company can hire a marketing agency. Cons: Marketing fundamentals are skipped, jumping to the fun part of marketing instead of “digging in the dirt” first. Meditate on this: Do I have conversations about my market with my marketing agency? |
Change 3. Marketing is all-encompassing
This one is my favourite!
Marketing has always been all-encompassing – its role is to attract and retain customers and talent. But what changed was – how deep we can go here. Social media and modern ways of communication through videos and visuals are highly engaging, fun and timely.
You can connect with your target audience and your team on a daily basis, on a personal level, which allows for building real relationships over time. As marketers, we’ve never had so many tools to work with! This is fun, but it also could be overwhelming. Marketing allows us all to stay truly connected, but if we don’t prioritize and “keep our eyes on the prize” (i.e. business growth) we will get more disconnected than before!
Hiring an honest marketing agency that will monitor progress, report on a regular basis and will not be afraid to have an open conversation about what’s working and what’s not (instead of empty promises), and adjusts the strategy when needed is key!
“Focusing on the problem, prioritization and relentless execution is what will help you grow!” @cucumber_marketing
| Pros: A plethora of tools that help us connect.Cons: We are disconnected if we don’t have a solid marketing infrastructure in place. Meditate on this: Is my team connected? Are all business units working together? |
As a marketing agency, our primary role is to become your marketing department. Some of our cool clients have a marketing team, but some of them don’t. Our goal is to ultimately become an extension of your current team, operating as the marketing infrastructure in a variety of perspectives to help you achieve your business objectives.
Being in business since 2008, we’ve observed the changes in the industry and internally first hand, constantly refreshing our approach of how we serve our clients.
No matter the type of business you are in – growing companies are dynamic – constantly adjusting to the trends that affect their growth.
Did this article provide a fresh perspective?
Head over to our LinkedIn Page or Instagram to share your thoughts and the most creative comment will be entered to win a free Brand Audit!
Did this article strike a chord with what’s going on in your organization? Do give us a shout 604-559-7509 and set up a discovery meeting, we would love to see if we can help.
Stop by our marketing agency in Vancouver, we always have chocolate!