The ship is sinking. Your company is quickly going out of business.
Who do you throw overboard first to lighten the load?
Which department do you lighten first? (I'm not speaking about throwing over specific nose-picking people)
Sadly for many, marketing is their first choice.
COVID made this blatantly clear as companies downsized their marketing departments and slashed budgets like a Freddie v. Jason remake. Of course, many people were let go, but marketing took its overwhelming share of losses.
Still don't believe me? (I know a few of you already believe marketing should be the first to go)
4 out of 10 people agree that marketing should be the first to go to save the business. 40% of people see marketing as a nice to have, not a must-have.
I'm not here to help convince the 40% that marketing—when done well—can be a massive differentiation. That'd be like trying to convince the South that slavery was wrong. They were too entrenched to see the other side; until a war ensued, and they lost many men.
My goal is to help you improve your marketing to convince your team and organization that marketing needs to stay—I'm here to help you think better about marketing's 1st principles so you can positively impact your organization.
I'm not going to explain why marketing should stay over operations or sales because there is no actual reason, just my anecdotes and biases.
The reason for sharing this is to show that you have an amazing opportunity on your hands: You can be the person who makes marketing a change agent in your company.
What if you do end up (or currently are) in an organization that resembles the South's attitude to slavery? LEAVE.
If you deeply care and believe in marketing's potential impact on the business, you must find a C Suite leader who sees a parallel world.
If they don't value marketing's potential impact, you can do all you want for them, but you will never "win." Instead, when shit hits the fan, you'll be the first to taste the saltwater. And quite possibly, you could end up in a mental hospital or draining serotonin uptakes to get through the day.
If you deeply care about doing great marketing and being rewarded for that, find an organization that values marketing and go crazy.
Experiment, fail, and grow as a marketer and person by finding good soil.
Marketing Insights ⚔️
- Believing in marketing's impact and value to the business will not convince people to change. Instead, find those who seem similar to you.
- Focus on the fundamentals of marketing (1st principles) to ensure your company feels the positive impact of marketing.
- Sincerely believe that marketing—when done well—can impact the business more than any other department.
Are you currently in good soil? Are you in an organization that values marketing and provides a path to improvement?
If not, run.
🧠 + ❤️ // JO