Marketing's offering needs an Audit

Hot topic time. Marketing is in danger of losing influence in the boardroom, of being usurped by management consultants and software programmes. Our profession needs to step up to the challenge of constant, substantive change; our “offering” needs an audit. We must add value in new ways, improve how we measure the effects of what we do, and eliminate some of the more annoying things about working and doing business with us. 

The great thinkers and practitioners amongst our ranks provide ideas and inspiration for the task. So I’ll take a different tack and share a few thoughts on preparing ourselves to avoid missed opportunities at best, and getting it badly wrong at worst. 

SIMPLE MINDS 

Let’s head East: Bhuddism teaches that things are always in transition. Constant uncertainty. A useful tool to deal with this is Beginner’s Mind. It’s simple to understand but a life’s work to put into effective practice. It has at its heart the idea of “not knowing”. Once we decide that we “know” something, it becomes difficult to keep our mind open to other thoughts. We try hard to be clever and forget the value of letting our minds sit still and quiet in order to see and hear new things. In the Beginner’s Mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there a few. Take the seemingly simple question, “what is marketing”? We spend hours explaining it to our peers, families, and pals in the pub. We’ve now expertly defined and also limited the possibilities. Time to employ Beginner’s Mind. 

There are positive and negative stereotypes for lawyers (sharp-witted heroes of justice vs over-billing ambulance-chasers). How would we stereotype our own profession? Be honest. Ask your colleagues, clients, agencies and pals in the pub to stereotype us too. Don’t stop at the usual caricatures, dig much deeper. 

Here’s an example from a project for a media agency client in Thailand regarding their work with marketing clients. Significant numbers of respondents used the Thai term “like a duck”, as in, “marketing departments are like ducks”. “Jack of all trades and master of none”, is the closest English language equivalent. 

Thais love ducks, they’re useful, if a bit annoying. Ducks can walk, but not well; swim, but they paddle amusingly; fly, but not elegantly. In other words, ducks can do everything, but are not outstanding at any of them. 

This kind of feedback may hurt our feelings, but are there some useful, valid points to be learned? The answer should always be “yes”. Remember, stereotypes have roots in fact, and we can’t ignore them entirely. 

SLIP INTO SOMETHING LESS COMFORTABLE 

We all try to make sense of the amazing but overwhelmingly complex world we live in by classifying people and ideas; marketers do it as part of our job. Life-stage, favourite tipple, attitude to Marmite. Fortnite* freak, frequent user, micro influencer. We have a box for every segment and a label for every box. 

But are we really in touch with the people we are trying to reach and influence? We try to avoid inherent bias, over-intellectualising, and being caught up in the sheer “awesomeness” of our own products, services and ideas, but forget to challenge ourselves to think in new ways. We must put ourselves to the test, hold our feet to the fire, and other appropriate clichés. Spending time being uncomfortable helps get us out of our rut and creates empathy, a wonderful quality to work on regardless of what our job title is. Try to make it immersive. Here are a couple of suggestions. 

Native English speaker? Watch a foreign language movie with no sub-titles. ALL the way through. It’s a frustrating ninety minutes and now you have a headache. Welcome to how the rest of the world feels doing business with us in a non-native language. Uncomfortable. 

Go to an event with people who don’t think like you do. You must go ALONE. For example, attend a political event for a party whose policies you oppose, or attend a religious ceremony of another faith. Now YOU are the minority. If you’re not at least a little uncomfortable, you’re not doing it right. Don’t intellectualise it, or coolly observe, or make mental notes. Just ask yourself one question: How does it FEEL? 

COME TOGETHER 

It’s the time of the year to take delivery of a fresh batch of graduates. Ah, the fresh smell of the newly minted business school alumnus! A heady mix of new shoe leather, Eau de Success, and hazelnut milk Frappuccino. They have tools and techniques, and are prepared to use them. “These are new things,” they cry. “And they’re under this lovely summer sun. Check out these cool graphics and predictive analytics tools!” 

They bring vital fresh thinking, new knowledge and readiness to challenge the norms of our profession. Smart marketers are listening to, and learning from these young folks. Experienced marketers must be a positive part of their professional development. Alas, some colleagues will feel threatened and refuse to hear new ideas. 

“Young blades” may feel like they’ve wandered into Jurassic Park rather than the marketing department, for what do the over forties know of the latest trends and tech? But “old school” folks have been at this a while and learned a thing or two about listening to customers. 

We shut each other out of the process. It happens for many reasons, some insidious, like ageism, racism, sexism, all the -isms really. Other times, it is a simple matter of feeling like others don’t have a valid contribution to make. So we dismiss them all too easily as our unconscious bias prevents us from appreciating their new perspectives. 

Neither group has all the answers. We are positively co-dependent. Let’s make it work. 

WE CAN WORK IT OUT 

Exercising our Beginner’s Mind, getting out of our comfort zone, and pooling our collective wisdom, old and new, won’t provide us with the answer to the question, “whither marketing”? But it will help prepare us for the task. 

In theory, we are very well-placed to learn and grow. We are trained in divergent ways of thinking, have sound analytical tools, and creativity is already part of our brief. The Marketing Profession has a very bright future indeed. Sunglasses may be required. 

* a video game 

Lisl has 30 years of experience in marketing and communications. She has been a senior client, planner, and consultant in several industries in Europe and across Asia. Brands include BT, Amadeus, OMD and DST, and projects vary from strategic marketing, new product development, market research, campaign development and measurement, and customer loyalty.

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