Four basic marketing rules
Violate at your own risk
I periodically like to remind myself of some basic marketing rules (and then proceed to find ways to ignore or forget them). Rules like this don’t really need to be followed all the time, they are mostly to remind us of some basic good practices. The better we get at what we do, the better able we are to make smart choices about the rules. Rules give us a mirror to check how we look before we launch a new marketing program.
Four basic marketing rules:
You are not your customer — This is my favorite and I happen to currently be in a job where it is actually not true (but is still true anyway)1. That said, it is a reminder that the customers out there have very different perceptions than the marketers inside the business.
Good writing matters — Across any medium, for any product or service, the ability to spark interest and communicate your message still matters.
Data informs but rarely inspires — Marketing today is heavily dependent upon all sorts of data and analytics. It is critical to helping marketers make smart decisions about advertising, audiences, and other tactics. But data is never a substitute for insight and inspiration. Those come from knowing the business, customers, competitors, as well as knowing the data.
Marketing is a team sport — In the complex world of modern marketing, no one can really do it alone. Whether it is across brand or demand, writing content or buying keywords, building campaigns and managing communications, the skills and experiences of many make the work work. Embrace the team, extend the team, enjoy the power of the huddle and scrum.
The more experienced we get, the more we need to remind ourselves and others of the basics.
I am CMO for a software company that sells marketing software to CMOs and other marketers. So, I am the customer (and also use our products). But, I know that the perceptive of customers outside the company is always different than mine — I am too deeply immersed in the product and industry to be truly objective about how real customers think. So, I am the customer and I am not the customer. Schrödinger's CMO…