Excellent blog post from marketing guru Seth Godin on being boring. I can’t tell you how many CEO’s do not understand that they are not getting press coverage, not getting response to marketing programs, not generating buzz because they DO NOT HAVE A GOOD STORY TO TELL. Announcing your latest product release or a new store location is not in and of itself exciting – you have to get creative on enveloping the story within a larger cultural or business context. That’s why Whitney and I are putting on this Branding Strategies workshop for folks that need inspiration and creative ideas for telling their story.
Many companies try to get “something for nothing” when it comes to marketing – they try to low ball the PR agency or the design firm. They skimp on actual email marketing experts who know the ins and outs of getting emails noticed and delivered. They think marketing is easy because they are inundated by marketing every day, and somehow that makes them knowledgeable in this field.
I’m not saying “non-marketing” people do not have great ideas – some of the best marketing minds I’ve worked with are ones that don’t come from marketing. But just like you hire a Finance person with accounting skills, and a developer with Java skills, you will need to pay a marketing/PR person for their marketing skills. You can be frugal, especially in this economy. But don’t skimp on quality!
