How Getting In Shape And Brand Publishing Are Connected
Historically advertising and marketing has been synonymous with the term “immediate return.” You pay for advertising space, pitch your brand and wait for the phone to ring. Sounds easy right? And in its day, it was. If it worked. Back in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s THAT was the corner stone of B2B marketing. But things changed when the Internet arrived. Over the past twenty plus years the Internet has changed everything about our lives. One of the MANY things that has evolved with it is the buyer’s journey. I’ve written at length about just how much the buyer’s journey has changed and what that means for not just the B2B space but the Water market as it exists within B2B. If those put in charge of your business’ growth are still viewing marketing in the same way they did when we were all wondering “Who Shot JR?”... your business has a huge problem.
Often times when speaking with a marketing decision maker in this industry the person I’m conversing with is usually a baby boomer or an older Gen Xer. Some of them (not all) still don’t understand the current state of affairs when the topic of “advertising” comes up. In their minds, advertising and marketing are the same thing and both are meant to produce immediate returns. More on the difference between these two concepts in a later column but for now I bring it up to make a specific point. The day of immediate return expired many years ago. With buyers now walking themselves through the buying process on their own they will continue to ignore messages designed to “sell” them. Instead they opt for messages that speak to them, inform them, and inspire them.
Unfortunately for those still searching for immediate returns on today’s marketing tactics, they will continue to search until they retire. For those who recognize the current state of things, they must also come to terms with Brand Publishing and content marketing being longer term solutions.
Marketing expert Scott Severson once said:
“Content marketing is a lot like working out. You’re not going to see a payoff in a week, but if you commit to doing it regularly over time, you’ll see amazing results. Bottom line: There is tremendous ROI in consistently developing great content for your audience. And, unlike other forms of marketing, content marketing pays dividends far into the future.”
Embracing this concept reminds me a lot of when people stop looking for the miracle pill, miracle cream, miracle diet or miracle machine and see things for what they are. They decide to commit to eating better, exercising regularly and to stop checking the scale every morning. The payoff in that approach is FAR greater than continuing to fail through “get fit fast” mirages. This approach also pays off far into the future, much further than anything they thought before actually doing it.
There are no short cuts, there are no easy ways to success. By embracing reality however, your business will benefit in ways you never thought possible.