Many people think of marketers as “creatives.” Wordsmiths who craft clever, pithy taglines. Designers who make beautiful visual art.
And those things can be a part of marketing.
But the job of a marketer is not to create “stuff”. The job is to create one thing:
A reliable system to bring in and convert leads into loyal customers
Thinking of marketing as a creative endeavor is dangerous. It is a business endeavor that should have the very clear goal I just mentioned.
So, How Do Marketers Create This System?
Herein lies the rub.
To get there, you may need to design logos, build websites, write blog posts, craft social media posts, shoot videos, host events, create promotional products, give talks, send emails…
And all those things? They involve a lot of creativity.
Why is that dangerous?
Because it’s very easy to get lost in the creative process… and forget the end goal.
That leads to a whole lot of waste.
What Do I Mean By Waste?
Social media posts designed and written with no real audience in mind. Infographics meticulously created… but never promoted. Blog posts no one reads.
The flip side of that is TikTok videos that have a half a million views… but lead to no sales. A massive email subscriber list that doesn’t know why they should buy from you. A site built for people seeking information but never intending to purchase.
And you have marketing gurus on all sides shouting at you that the solutions are to create more. Or telling you that you need to create a specific thing or do it in a specific way to find success.
Neither is true.
The Real Way to Reach That Reliable System You Need
The reality is much simpler, but also much more complex.
What you need to do is start — or continue creating — what is helping you get sales and… wait for it… stop doing what isn’t.
There is no one “right” way to build your marketing system. And often, creating more results in more waste and more confusion.
What matters is creating whatever “stuff” will reach your target audience and convince them to pick you and stay with you.
How Can You Know What Your Target Audience Wants?
You don’t. Not at first.
You start by creating a thoughtful plan.
Take time to understand your audience. Figure out what makes you the right fit for them. Craft a compelling message to inform and convince your audience of that fit.
Then you put it into action… and you see if it works.
You do this by measuring. With analytics, yes. But it’s more than that. You see how a pitch lands when you talk to a prospect. You listen to how others describe your business. You take note of the questions you get.
And then you go back to planning. What can we do better? Where is their confusion? What’s working that we can build on? What’s not working that we should stop?
And you do this over time. Working to build and maintain:
A reliable system to bring in and convert leads into loyal customers
When you approach marketing as a strategic process — and not a creative endeavor — your results build over time.
Every member of the WR team is creative.
Among us we boast screenplay writers, novelists, song writers, photographers, artists, and even a chocolatier.
That’s part of what makes us good at what we do.
But the other part is that, at work, we’re marketers first. We’re here to create business growth. We’re here to create that reliable system.
And the ultimate reward for us is celebrating with clients when it works!
