You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow. Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here. -Mark Schaefer
I met with a customer the other day who said she could never be creative enough to be in marketing. Of course I encouraged this line of thinking. Otherwise, why would she need me? ; )
But the fact is, the engine of marketing is research and data. To be sure, the best marketers need a flair of creative inspiration to look at a spreadsheet and find trends and truths, but the heart of marketing strategy — ALL marketing strategy — is fact-based analysis.
One of my favorite quotes is from an old baseball player and batting champion Willie Keelerwho said the secret to his success was to “Hit ’em where they ain’t.”
Successful marketing depends on the same thing. Don’t be the same. You need to occupy a niche where you can find unmet or under-served customer needs. And the only way to do that is to get out there and talk to them. Find those facts. Do that research … and your strategy has a tendency to reveal itself. Right?
