It’s time to admit that there is a massive gap in marketing talent, and it’s getting worse. Olive oil in coffee and cereal for bedtime? These are just some of the dumbest things marketers are doing. Marketing isn’t hard, folks; listen to your customers and ensure you’re product meets their expectations. Instead, marketers have too much data that tells them nothing.
Lynn Altman, on LinkedIn, recently commented about Post Consumer Brands targeting this unhealthy behavior as “part of healthy sleep routine,” it’s not only misleading, it’s downright irresponsible.
“As a brand that’s been helping early risers crush their morning routines for over 100 years, we’re thrilled to now help fans also establish healthy nighttime habits by providing a nutrient-dense before-bed snack made to support a sleep routine they could only dream of until now,” Logan Sohn, the company’s Senior Brand Manager, said in a statement. That Brand Manager needs to be fired.
Then there is Musk’s destruction of Twitter. Outages are rising, advertising revenues have plunged, and a company with a 7,500-strong workforce just four months ago now employs just 2,000 after another round of job cuts. Twitter was in need of help but coming in and just randomly firing people is a great example of what not to do.
There are so many other examples of marketing screw-ups that it boggles the mind. Google fired random high performers and blew an AI demonstration that crashed its stock. Rather than trying to win new customers, most brands are firing people, hoping Wall Street will reward them.
Why is this happening? Simple. Too many terrible marketers rely on their connections and past reputations. They have tons of data but nobody to tell them what that data means or what they should do. Nestle has decided to raise prices again on some products even though consumers are financially stretched to their limits. It will lead to a loss of market share that they spent a lot of money to build.
What’s being taught in MBA business schools is spreadsheet marketing. They’re trying to quantify consumer behavior that doesn’t want to be measured.
What makes a good marketer?
1ne: Someone who can look at their product/brand through a consumer’s eye and ask, “why should I buy your product?”.
2wo: Being able to understand why your customers are your customers.
3hree: An understanding of the importance of merchandising. Grocers are remerchandising aisles, and brands are the losers.
4our: Ditching all the big useless data and drilling down to what people say about your brand.
5ive: Relying on research too much or too little. Great marketers know what works and don’t need to justify all their actions.
6ix: Forcing agencies to be accountable for their recommendations that are implemented.
7even: Someone who comes through the ranks and understands how things get done in the organization.
Unfortunately, there aren’t enough people on LinkedIn calling out the idiots. They’re too busy telling us how proud they are to be part of a company or working with someone. The fact that almost nobody has called Musk the idiot he is for ruining Twitter indicates how far-gone business has become.
Maybe the retired Boomers need to come back to save marketing because most of it is on life support.
