Are you marketing but don’t know it?

It is fascinating how many companies I come across that start a conversation with: ‘oh we don’t need marketing’, or ‘we don’t need to do any marketing’ or variations thereof.

What generally makes the conversation fascinating is that in virtually every case they are marketing – and often doing an OK job – they just don’t know it.

If you strip marketing back to its bare bones it is almost impossible to be in business and not to be marketing in some way. As Seth Godin so eloquently puts it in his book This is Marketing:

“Marketing is all around us…You’ve learned to read from the logos on the side of the road, and you spend your time and your money in response to what marketers have paid to put in front of you. Marketing, more than a lake or a forest, is the landscape of our modern lives.

Because marketing has been done to us for so long we take it for granted. Like the fish who doesn’t understand water, we fail to see what’s actually happening and don’t notice how it’s changing us.”

Some common ‘marketing but don’t know it’ attributes

1. You have a website. It may not be the greatest website in the world but you have an online space where people can come to find out about you and what you sell. In many cases the website is generally doing an OK job and is a perfectly acceptable starting point for your business.
   
   
2. If you have a website you generally own the domain name, have a logo and some brand colours that are on the site. Even if you have not identified them using marketing terms – they exist and they are the start of your brand story and guidelines.
   
   
3. If you don’t have a website you may have some other online presence. A LinkedIn or Facebook page for the company. You and others in the business may also actively talk and share what you’re doing across those and other socal platforms.
   
   
4. You attend events. You don’t have to exhibit at a trade show or speak at a conference to be marketing at one. If you wear a shirt with your business logo on it. If you have a ‘story’ you tell about what you do, why you do it and how. If you take business cards – and follow up with them after the event to make a connection (even if they’re not ready to buy from you). You are marketing.
   
   
5. At these events – or even over a barbecue with friends – you and those you work with tell a fairly similar story about what you do. It doesn’t have to be word-for-word but it is uniquely your story and anyone hearing it again, will know it is your business being spoken about.
   
   
6. You keep a list of contacts you keep in regular contact with by email. This can be individually or you might use some kind of email sending software to do this…or just BCC in your email.

Are you nodding your head yet?

It is a timely reminder that marketing isn’t advertising. The bottom line is - marketing is a whole lot more than spending money on ads, having a marketing tech stack and doing expensive events.

In ‘marketing without knowing it’ you have most likely got your business up and running, built some momentum in the market and got some clients on board. You should never underestimate how valuable your sub-conscious marketing efforts have been.

But generally, the reason I am having this conversation with someone is things have either slowed down or the business is wanting to grow faster or move in a different direction. Bringing in some marketing experience at this point is likely to be a good idea.

What that is, the budget and kind of marketing you need, should be a considered response. It should reflect where your company is at in its growth journey and what you are trying to achieve.

Getting it right can be painful

Overspending can be just as painful as underinvesting and getting it right is more an art than a science (no matter how many playbooks or ‘best practice’ templates someone may have). Wherever possible it should recognise and build on what you have unconsciously started.

It is the kind of conversation I love having – particularly when you see the lightbulb go on that the business has been marketing all along…they just didn’t know it. So, if you’ve just found out you’ve been marketing without knowing it– Seth Godin’s book “This is Marketing” could be a good place to start understanding more about what you’re doing.

Then - when you're ready - let's have a chat.