June 8, 2007

Aaargh! And other marketing nightmares… Also waiting for the tipping point!

What? Is that your FIRST rant ever Anita?

Well, it may be my last - it all depends on how many people I manage to piss off today (oops is that a swear word…).

And of course this is exactly the "best" topic for a first blog post, but what the heck - I might as well show my true colours right from the start right?

OK, this one will blow - so hang on or get out while you still can, if you're of the fainthearted kind. Sometimes I just have to get things off my chest and if you don't like it you ain't going to like a lot of my stuff from now on!

So here it goes…

I love marketing - I love what it teaches, I love its diversity, I love its flexibility and I love the fact that it never stands still…

Here's me hoping that it will move fast enough yet again, to blow this phase of its development right over The Tipping Point (truly and utterly grownd-breaking book by the way). It seems that we (a gross generalisation for the marketers of this world) are becoming our own enemies.

I really need to clarify this, because I don't want to offend the many really good marketers out there that have and still do drive this industry forward.

So let's be clear from the start, I am only talking about those "marketers" that call themselves that liberally, but actually shouldn't - they should instead call themselves… argh I don't know what to call them…

In effect, those few 'bad apples' of marketing, are cannibalising their own kind.

Sure we're all in IT to make a living, and because the odd ones of us actually love it, but this thing's getting out of hand. So that's why I just had to post this.

What am I on about?

Over the past 5 months, I've been preparing to launch my new site - which involves reviewing products in the internet marketing niche. Well, in those few months I've been really digging into the different products out there and have noticed something astonishing… So many people are selling products using tactics they've either invented or have heard/read of from someone else. But it's not the tactics that are getting me all heated up, it's the blind lies behind all the bold claims and hyped up words that I am sure are getting to many of us - not just me…

What makes it even more frustrating is that for those of us who are in this for the love of the trade and choose to be genuine and to really try and make someone's life better (while making a good living), it's just becoming so much more difficult to find ways to cut through everyone else's s**t.

I realise the world isn't fair - hah! - but because I feel marketing is a form of art, I can't stand it falling prey to those few who "missed the point".

In a way we are also fuelling the frenzy. We're always on the look out for the next big thing, so we have to investigate everything that comes out, as much as we can see right through the mumbo jumbo of some of the campaigns…

Hell, I've been in online marketing for the past three years (in marketing for over 8) and I'm still driving myself into a state of panic trying to figure out if this new thing is what it says on the proverbial tin!!! How must a 'newbie' feel - I don't even want to start thinking about it…

OK, so enough of my crying out - I'm usually a person that looks to be constructive rather than lay blame - so here it is - the science bit… ok not really science, but I've always wanted to say this…

I think the time is pretty close when we ourselves will start exposing those few who are tarnishing our marketing 'good name'.

So, I propose to all of marketingdom out there, let's all do something about it.

Let's bring this to its tipping point, let's start actively being against taking the 'mickey'…

Of course opinion of products and points of view are subjective, so one person will not be liked by everyone, but products either do what they say they do, or they don't - right? We need to be careful to let the industry develop and to not start a 'witch hunt'… but we also need to start getting the message through, that marketing is not about the short term quick profit, it's about building relationships based on information exchange and good useful products.

If enough of us speak and do marketing like the John Reeses and Seth Godins of this world, surely we should overshadow the 'baddies' giving more good content for the 'new blood' entering this industry…