38 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started In Marketing
April 10, 2008 by ian
Ah, youth. 13 years ago I started my company with a spare room in my house, a credit card (limit: $1500) and a computer (Pentium 75 mhz, Windows 95).
I was out of my ##@!)(@#$*!@@ mind.
If I'd known then what I know now, would I have gone into this business? I don't know. But here's some wisdom I wish I had back then:
- No one has a clue how to market anything. We are all winging it. It's just that some are better at winging it than others.
- Corollary: Seth Godin, et al are brilliant about the high-level stuff. But on a tactical level, everyone fails, most of the time. Learn from it.
- That which you doubt becomes a trend. When I started, I hedged my bets that this internet thing was a fad by writing copy for print pieces, too. Cough.
- Today's hot trend vanishes like a fart in the wind. The flip side of doubt is that the hottest trends often die so fast the universe forgets they ever existed. Remember 'push technology'? Wired does. In 1997 they were shouting how push would replace the web browser. 11 years later, RSS adoption is around 3-8% depending on who you ask. Don't jump on every new thing. The trick, of course, is knowing what to jump on, and what to jump over.
- Get a bookkeeper. My wife is a Chartered Accountant (a Canadian CPA+). She did our books for about 2 years. After two years of her harassing me for receipts I knew I'd lost and me driving her crazy with my squirrelesque accounting practices, I hired a part-time bookkeeper. Best money I've ever spent.
- Get a retainer. Clients you think are the nicest folks in the world may have painfully slow accounts payable departments. Get 30%. Up front. No matter what.
- You are right. When in a discussion, assume you are right. If you waffle, there's not much point in discussing anything.
- You are wrong. Don't be so blockheaded that you can't change your mind when you're clearly wrong.
- Buy a really nice monitor. Definitely buy a humungous monitor. I love mine, and I'm far more productive for having it.
- Work with people you like. No matter how much someone's paying you, if you dread talking to them the relationship won't last.
- Marketing should not compromise your values.
- You can teach without being cruel.
- Speak your mind. Better to be too honest than too subtle. I have no problem with this, or so I'm told. Ahem.
- Speak simply.
- Marketing jargon is fun but distracting. There are enough synergies, monetizations, 2.0s and viruses in the world.
- There are no absolutes. Marketing isn't about the 100% win or the 0% loss. It's about piling up a lot of 55% successes and then using them to beat the crap out of your competition.
- There is no 'industry specialization'. When someone asks me what industry we focus on, I want to yank on their nose so hard their feet retract. In marketing, industry specialization is a joke. Either you know how to tell and sell a compelling story, or you don't.
- Metrics are one tool. They are not the risen savior of marketing.
- Marketing is really, really, really messy. It's like painting your cat in peanut butter and then tying a bell to its tail. Stuff gets everywhere. That's OK.
- David Ogilvy can still tell you 99% of what you need to know about marketing. Considering he's dead, that's pretty impressive.
- Build something that'll last. Creating a business just to finance your lifestyle is fun and all, but if you want to really do something worth bragging about, build a business that has a chance of surviving after you leave. If that's too Ayn Rand for you, it's also totally OK to do the former. Just don't complain when it evaporates.
- Build a team you like. Then trust them.
- Trust your instincts, too. If you think things are coming off the rails, they very well may be.
- See that little thing on your desk with a number pad and a handset? That's a phone. Pick it up once in a while and speak to people. They love that.
- Outsourcing isn't the answer to everything. Lots of internet marketing pundits will tell you to outsource, outsource, outsource. Having a trusted team that knows each other and enjoys working together is good, too. Plus I've never seen someone in Indonesia come up with the next great marketing message for an American company (nor have I ever seen the reverse).
- One documented 'yes' from the client is worth 1,000,000 undocumented ones.
- Yes, you are worth whatever you charge! Probably more.
- If you have no idea, then don't say anything. You just end up sounding like an idiot.
- Everyone thinks you're scum. They may say otherwise. But I suspect my family still wishes I'd gone into p0rn instead.
- But you are not scum. You wield a great deal of power: You convince people to buy things, vote for people, change their lifestyles and more. Use that power wisely.
- Firing people always sucks. It doesn't get better.
- Being fired always sucks. It doesn't get better, either.
- Make sure you savor your wins.
- You are not a commodity, or 'headcount', or 'overhead'.
- The more someone threatens to fire you, the more they know they need you. Except when they really do fire you, of course, in which case they meant business.
- Use your clients' products! If you don't like them enough to use them, you can't market them, either.
- Have some fun, and a sense of humor. As a marketer, ridiculous things will happen to you every day. You're going to have to roll with it.
- Take a break, or your body may do it for you.
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» 38 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started In Marketing from bizsugar.com
Tracked on April 11, 2008 12:57 PM
Peter says:
April 10, 2008 17:09
Ogilvy is king. Long live Ogilvy...
Really enjoyed that list.
I must be getting somewhere because I can relate to many of those points. Which is good, right?
Cheers!
Chris Winfield says:
April 10, 2008 18:01
This was one of the first posts I have read from start to finish in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it...
Ian
says:
April 10, 2008 18:36
I'll vote for "it's good". I'm going to be 40 this summer so I gotta be positive.
Ian
says:
April 10, 2008 18:37
@chris Thanks, glad you liked it.
David Temple says:
April 10, 2008 22:40
Nice post Ian. "You can teach without being cruel"? Now where did that come from? Working at Ogilvy I agree the guy was a genius. Wish more people read him around here though.
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 07:07
@David Thanks. The not cruel line came from the recent Shel Israel/Loren Feldman crap. I respect both as professionals - really admire Loren's work. But I am unclear on why it's OK to relentlessly lampoon an individual AND hijack their name as a domain AND then profit for it.
Bo Pentecost says:
April 11, 2008 10:00
Great insight. Personally I like for at least 58% of my clients marketing tactics to work. Enjoyed reading your list!
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 10:25
@Bo that makes you a miracle worker :)
Tracy says:
April 11, 2008 10:35
26. One documented 'yes' from the client is worth 1,000,000 undocumented ones.
After a lot of back and forth with a client the other day, they finally replied with "I now understand, you are right in suggesting this." This victory was all I needed for the day. I'm going to keep that in my inbox and reference it from time to time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm always right, however the clients don't always recognize that.
Mark Barrera says:
April 11, 2008 11:40
I love #21. I have been wishing that book would just go away for a while now. Every time someone quotes something from it, I like them a little less.
Great list & site - just added your RSS feed!
Gyutae Park says:
April 11, 2008 11:44
Hey Ian,
Great list you've put together here. I'm sure things have changed drastically in the past 13 years - that in itself enables you to speak out on this and give insights that a lot of the new Internet marketers simply don't have.
MikeTek says:
April 11, 2008 12:08
Awesome post, Ian! I'm going to read this one a few times I'm sure, as well as send it around to some friends/colleagues.
Also, I just love the phrase "vanishes like a fart in the wind." Like Andy Duphresne from Shawshank Prison.
Terry Reeves says:
April 11, 2008 12:13
This is the most relevant thing to my life I have read in a long time.
goodnewscowboy says:
April 11, 2008 12:19
Hey Ian:
That was a *brilliant* post. Practical and funny at the same time. And I love the shot of your employees pulling each others hair.
B.
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 12:45
@Gyutae Thanks. Although writing this list made me feel like I'm 100 years old.
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 12:49
@Mark It's funny. When I started reading The 4 Hour Workweek, the first story in there was about how he won the kickboxing championship. I was horrified.
That said, the book has some amazing advice on managing and living your life...
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 13:30
@Goodnewscowboy Thanks! They're not my employees though :)
I have to give credit here. Jade Ingmire, from my company, gave me the idea to write this. I wrote it (no ghostwriting here) but it was her brainchild.
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 13:32
@MikeTek that must be where I got the expression. I know I didn't make it up. I build on the shoulders of giants. Or something.
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 13:35
@Tracy As long as you got it in writing...
Paul McIntosh says:
April 11, 2008 13:40
Simply wonderful list, and you are so so right.
Along with, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Some things are timeless,#20.
Eran Ben Sabat says:
April 11, 2008 14:58
Splendid list.
I have got another one (if I may):
39. Take the road less traveled.
Ian
says:
April 11, 2008 15:04
@Eran I'm not that brave, I must admit...
Palmer Web Marketing says:
April 11, 2008 17:25
#7 is right on. There's nothing that will lose you business faster than an uncertain response to a client's question. They need to know that you are in the pilot's seat and flying the plane in the right direction.
Aaron says:
April 12, 2008 15:00
#16 made me laugh, if I had the nerve I'd print it out and dump it on my bosses desk, it'd probably double his knowledge of marketing overnight.
Ian
says:
April 12, 2008 15:35
@Aaron I don't want to get anyone into trouble :)
Diane Drinkwater says:
April 12, 2008 16:08
I agree with the work with people you like. It's always easier to write about products you use and love.
John Cass says:
April 12, 2008 20:50
Does this mean you wear prom dresses?
Ian
says:
April 12, 2008 22:44
Ssssssh. I thought that was our little secret!
Diane Vigil says:
April 13, 2008 04:16
Loved the 'Metrics are one tool' and the success percentages. There are enough people selling on the fear that clients won't get 100% sales ratios. As if. :)
Sonny Gill says:
April 13, 2008 17:32
Great post!
Dave says:
April 13, 2008 22:13
GOLDEN INFORMATION - It doesn't get any better than this.
Maria Reyes-McDavis says:
April 14, 2008 02:27
Hilarious and great post about the REAL truth on Internet Marketing. Leave it up to you to just come out and say it :-)
Maria :-)
Marc Beharry says:
April 14, 2008 08:21
this is a great list Ian, for newbies and old timers, cough
Terra Andersen says:
April 14, 2008 09:16
Wonderful Article! I really enjoyed it, and it is oh-so-true!
Dan Perry says:
April 14, 2008 09:29
Very good collection. I added #25 to my personal collection of Great Quotes.
Fred Janssen says:
April 14, 2008 12:49
Nice Post Ian, thanks. More evidence that experience is still the best teacher... and more efficient when it's someone elses (though often we still insist on gaining it first-hand).
Andk says:
April 22, 2008 16:50
Well, that was pretty inspiring.