What they don’t teach you in Marketing class

Marketing is a widespread “phenomenon”. When I started my studies, it was still relatively new and specific. Nowadays, it seems, everybody is a marketer. Or at least feel they are. I remember one professor telling us: “forget everything you have learned, throw away all your marketing books. Just use your common sense”. Marketing for him was 90% common sense and 10% application of theoretical knowledge. (just like Yoda tells Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: let go of your feelings….feel the force).

In many ways I do agree with him. There are many people out there who can be considered marketing geniuses, without having a formal degree in marketing. But, for all us “licensed” marketers, these can be some comforting words. I think it was in Tim Harfords book "The Undercover Economist" where he said something like:
I might not be as good as Einstein or other famous people, but at least I do the best I can at what I do best, and that is my contribution to this world

Lets look at the classical marketing approach of 80-20. Try to achieve 80% of marketing goals by using 20% common sense or theory? It will bore in the likes of around 70 - 30. In any case, just apply the percentage-mix you feel works best for you. This is what they don’t teach us in school or marketing courses.

Every person who has endured, survived and accomplished any kind of marketing course is sent into this world with a manual of theories, models and other stuff he or she can apply. This is always very noticeable with newcomers in any organisation. They start right away applying some model in order to achieve a goal which it should lead them to. This is all very good. That’s why they learned that stuff and why they have been hired and everybody is happy (at least that was in a nutshell my first start at where I work).

Then after a while you start noticing that your knowledge and implementation of these models mixed and based on common sense…..don’t always get approval. Something is wrong. The model indicates that in situation A one should apply model X and based on market trends, data and statistics, the logical outcome and therefore action should be AX. Still you meet resistance and negative feedback. How do you deal with this? Nobody taught me this in school?

Marketing, for a large part is what some call: “a people’s business”. And whilst theoretically we have been thought what the definition of People’s business is, we have not been trained on how to deal with this when things don’t go as planned.

Many times there are different people involved in determining the decision or direction of a marketing objective, strategy or tactic. They all have their own respective common sense, knowledge and experience. However….it’s a people’s business. They also have their own interests and desires that get included into the equation. Sometimes these “personal” factors defy common marketing sense and any existing model or theory. Yet, depending on the person, they can be very decisive in determining the chosen direction. As a marketer caught in the middle one should also have a certain level of political and diplomacy skills. How to reach a consensus where common marketing sense, partly based on facts and figures, can still please some of the personal desires. Sometimes it takes a little bit of pleasing in order to get the big plans rolling.

Scene in BBC's mini series ROME. Where Mark-Anthony and harras Octavian (Julius Ceasars Heir) for having pleased the poor people. However, Octavian sees the bigger picture:

Mark Anthony: What have you done?

Octavian's mother: What is the reason of this? You are giving the plebs their money!!
Octavian: I have promised it. I am sorry I have not told you before, I knew yo'd object. I have decided to enter public life, and this is a great way to introduce myself to the people.
Mark Anthony (very angry): That will be seen as a direct challenge to ME!
Octavian: Yes...but that isn't y intention at all. I suggest we make a public display of unity. That when you leave politics and I step in, you will be protected by me from your enemies in the senate. And I can provide that.
Mark Anthony: Who the **** do you think you are?
Octavian's mother: He does not have the money.
Octavian: I was able to borrow it in advance of my inheritance.
Octavian's mother: ...How much..did you borrow?
Octavian: Not much in the grand scheme of things?
Mark-Anthny:..How Much...?
Octavian (calmly answers): 3 million sesterstius

Here Mark Anthony and Octavian's mother completely flip out. Because that was a substantial amount of money back then. And to just give it away to the poor people.
Octavian's line always stayed with me: "Not in the grand scheme of things". He went on being one of the longest sitting roman rulers and set Rome on a course of prosperity.

As a marketer, one should always keep the end result in sight. It is essential that you create a track record of achieving results by keeping your focus. Because you can please people as much as you want, but at the end of the day, if you cannot deliver results all the pleasing has been in vain. And in the big bad business world, your actions to please can be easily set aside as being: It’s business…nothing personal. So even if you get fired, your achievements will not go un-noticed and will help you get back on your feet.

It is essential that you develop a 6th sense, if you will, for knowing exactly how to determine your marketing decision mix (based on facts vs. based on pleasing key people). This can only be achieved through experience. If someone wrote a textbook on this and schools started adding this to their curriculums, it might help a bit. But reality is never as exact as books make you believe.

So again, what my professor told me a couple of years ago is very useful:
“Forget everything you know and learned about marketing. Use your common sense”.
Determine for yourself why and who do you have to please and to what extend. Whilst never betraying your true marketing sense and instincts (integrity) for achieving real results.

And as Sir Richard Branson says: everything is allowed, as long as it is legal.