I'm a word nerd.
I get a sick sense of satisfaction from dissecting words and developing my understanding.
One word that always tickles my fancy (is that how you say it?) is marketing.
What the f*ck does marketing mean?
As I learned in English class (one of the two things I learned), stems, or parts of words, are essential in understanding what the word means.
An example: "Un" in UNhappy means not, opposite. So unhappy means not happy or the opposite of happy.
The word marketing contains what smaller word?
MARKET.
MARKET.
Where does your mind wander when you hear "market?"
Mine goes to a farmer's market. My wife and I go every Wednesday night for date night (am I getting old?).
Maybe your mind goes to the phrase "market your product."
Leave that thinking behind.
The "market" in marketing means a collection of people. Similar to a farmer's market.
The job of the CMO (Chief MARKET Officer) is to establish two things (among a million other things):
- What market segment (category) should we play in which we have the highest chance of winning?
- What target market should we go after that would best respond to our product or service?
Marketing = strategy.
When you think of marketing being synonymous with strategy, you realize how important it is to define and iterate the answer to those two questions. Get the strategy right.
Those two questions are first-order principles in marketing (AKA essential to success).
"Should we create an Instagram account?" or "what content should be create?" are second to third-order principle marketing questions.
If all you focus on is second and third-order principles in marketing, you will produce second to third-rate results.
Nail the first-order principles, and marketing becomes much more manageable.
How do you define "marketing?"
🧠 // JO