Jordan Ogren

January 18, 2022

It's not always marketing's fault + the Cubs' debacle

You ever heard of the Chicago Cubs?

There's a gripping story about how they became known for all the wrong reasons. Let me share the story:

It was the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, and a fan named Steve Bartman reached out to catch a foul ball. Unfortunately, while he reached out, he bumped Moisés Alou of the Cubs–who also was trying to catch it–resulting in him dropping the ball. 

The Cubs were up 3-0 in that game and ended up losing it 3-8. The Cubs lost 6-9 the next night and didn't make it to the World Series.

Guess why they didn't win those two games: Steve Bartman. Or at least that's who they instantly blamed for the debacle.

Did Steve make them give up 6 runs after the incident? No.
Did Steve (not in attendance) make them lose 6-9 in the final game of the series? No.

But Cubs' fans blamed him for it. And they hated him for ruining their opportunity to win a World Series. But, of course, no one blamed any of the players.

Silly, isn't it?

We do the same thing with marketing.

Not enough leads? Marketing's fault.
Not enough pipeline? Marketing's fault.
Coffee cold in the office? Marketing's fault.

Marketing is the greatest scapegoat. 

Why is this? It's easier to blame marketing than address the real reason for failure.

The real reason may be:
  • It's December, and hardly anyone is in the office pushing sales to the next year + fewer selling days
  • The POV and differentiation of the company isn't as strong as leadership believes
  • Marketing is forced to operate like it's 1990 (i.e., trade shows, direct mail)

Without addressing the real reason for the failure, it's impossible to make real improvements.

Maybe marketing is at fault. But they can't be the reason for every issue.

It's easier to blame everything on marketing, but that doesn't help your company win. Like how blaming Steve Bartman didn't help the Cubs win a World Series.

It was easier but no more effective than blaming the moon for their loss.

Marketeer Insights ⚔️
  1. Marketing gets the blame for many issues that are not addressed and more foundational
  2. Blaming marketing instead of facing the actual reasons for failure create an endless cycle of slow growth as marketing is unable to truly improve
  3. Don't be a simpleton and blame marketing for everything

🧠 + ❤️ // JO