What Are We Doing Here?
Legendary marketing reminds everyone in your organization exactly what kind of future we’re working to bring about; it answers the question, “what are we doing here?”
The assembly line foreman at the Tickle Me Elmo factory was furious.
His newest team member, who had just started yesterday, was moving too slowly, causing significant disruptions for the rest of his crew.
He stormed into the office of the personnel manager and demanded an explanation.
“That new employee training of yours just isn’t working,” barked the foreman. “The new people never understand what we’re building here; they’re always holding up production! Especially this last one!”
The personnel manager asked to see what was happening, so both men proceeded to the factory floor.
When they arrived, they saw that the line was significantly backed up with hundreds of Tickle Me Elmo’s strewn all over the place, and more were piling up all the time.
The new employee sat at the end of the line, buried in a mountain of plush red toys. She was diligently focused on her work. She had a roll of red fabric and a bag of marbles.
The two men watched in amazement as she cut a small piece of fabric, wrapped it around a pair of marbles, and carefully began sewing the little package between Elmo's legs.
The personnel manager began to laugh, and it was some time before he could compose himself. When he finally did, he told her, "I'm sorry, but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday.”
“Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles.”
What Are We Doing Here?
When most people ask for marketing, they naturally carry forward some basic assumptions about what they’re talking about.
Some people believe that marketing is the PR department, carefully managing the corporate messaging; others believe that it is the sales enablement department, carefully taking orders from their colleagues hunting for revenue; and many believe that marketing is the arts and crafts department, dedicated to imposing your brand on every unsuspecting hat, mug, sweatshirt, pen, park bench, and billboard.
They can all agree that marketing is a tactical function focused exclusively on reaching external audiences.
These are all severely limited views of the marketing function, and they’re all wrong.
Legendary marketing begins at home, inside your company, and emanates from there through the experience you deliver to customers.
Legendary marketing reminds everyone in your organization exactly what kind of future we’re working to bring about; it answers the question, “what are we doing here?”
Setting Strategic Direction
The best marketing is not something that is done when you’ve finished building the product; it’s not a step you take after you’ve reached the ever-elusive dreamland of product-market fit.
When operating correctly, marketing is a leadership function that defines the problem the company is solving, articulates the organization’s prescribed solution (their point of view), and helps the world see things the way you see them.
As marketers, our job is to tell stories that create positive change – first, to unify our organizations, then to leverage that unity so we can improve the lives of our customers.
While there is danger in becoming too inwardly focused, there is also danger in failing to align the functions of your organization around a central narrative.
Failing to leverage marketing as a unifying force leaves you exposed to the risk that
Warning: Beware the Fallacy of the “Internal Customer”
“Position yourself or be positioned.” – Christopher Lochhead.
Words matter. And that is why I balk at the use of the frequently used term “internal customer.” Using this type of language causes us to forget whom we are building for and whom we are building with. Your colleagues don’t pay your salary; your customers do.
You can (and should) take input from those inside your organization. However, if you look at your marketing project pipeline and you can’t find a single idea that originated from the marketing department which meaningfully moves you towards designing and dominating your category, watch out – you’re on your way to irrelevance.
For marketing to have a seat in the c-suite, you need to be mindful of the urge to end up taking orders from every other leader inside the organization.
If you are building campaigns exclusively for your internal teams, your content will probably get no results…and you’ll be embarrassed by it in 3 years.
Don’t let yourself become the arts and crafts department for sales, finance, product, or HR. Your company's future success depends on properly positioning marketing with your team – it requires that you lead.
It requires that you move your focus from challenging internal egos, external customers, or demanding stakeholders and focus on combatting the problem your solution solves.
Get Started Crafting Your Unique Point of View
To properly lead marketing for internal and external stakeholders, you must craft and verbalize a unique point of view on the problem your company is solving.
Remember, marketing is a leadership function that defines the problem the company is solving, articulates the organization’s prescribed solution/point of view, and helps the world see things the way we see them.
Here is how I would recommend we start doing this today:
1. Identify the gap. What problems do you solve? Make a list.
2. Define the vision. What does your customer’s life look like in 5 years?
3. Name it. Give your solution a real name that gives people a good idea of how you will solve this problem.
4. Start evangelizing that category.
Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers.