10 Undeniable Reasons People HATE Marketing - and how right Branding & Marketing can repair the hate.

If you want a different experience or different outcome, you have to do something - different. In the vibe of top 10 lists, the following are 10 things I believe address problems people have with Marketing and what drives them to not just turn their nose up at the prospect of marketing.

Throughout I want to address how I believe right (or good quality) Branding & Marketing can repair the hate. I use to HATE pimento cheese... until I had it homemade by the right person. Mind changed.

10 ? Difficult to justify seemingly intangible costs.

Budgets are real things. If a seemingly potential client cannot afford my service, there is nothing wrong with my offering or even with the client... they aren't my client, and I am not their solution. Businesses have budgets that are supposed to line up with a purpose. Be a purpose that is tangible.

Budgets have line items to address specific things. If you can't solve the problem posed - don't promise your solution is their fix. In the old west, bottles of snake-oil elixir either did nothing, or worse - created NEW problems. Show how your solution is an actual solution. If your solution lines up with their budget and can actually deliver - you are a great fit. Justification is in providing an actual fix.

9 ? Over-stretching tight budgets with an added expense.

Budgets are often maxed out. Ties back into the prior point - but is specific to an internal problem. Many businesses I have spoken with love the ideas being discussed, but do not know how to put them into their system and their financial wherewithal. In other words - saying "yes" to me, means saying "no" to something already established.

Budgets have line items of old habits. Is the established thing working? Sometimes not - or at least not like it once did, but there is some relationship in place. Cutting that tie is personal. People like to proclaim, "it's just business" - but realistically, that is never the case. Business is relationships, traditions, habits and other people.

Budget decisions are perspective changes. In order to do something different, there first has to be a turning away from a predetermined mindset. What was being done - worked to a point. People get hung up there, believing that waiting will provide the eventuality anticipated. They can't view your solution as needed because they chose poorly. Rather, re-confirm that prior decisions got them to where they are now, and this next step will take them to the next place. Decisions are perspective changes.

8 ? Frustration with other people's spam

When we think of "marketing" - we define it by experience. Those NOT in marketing tend to judge it by their experience with stuff they do not like - ie - spam. Most reputable business don't want that association on their business/brand.

7 ? Fearing the lack of Authenticity.

We are exposed to over 10,000 messages every single day. When much of that exposure is poorly formed messages, they bear a sense of yuck and lack authenticity (genuineness). We need to help deliver a "so what" to our brand message so people know what our product/service is all about, and we answer clearly WHY our message truly matters in the midst of the clutter.

6 ? Mediocre ads are the basis of judgement.

Similar to #7 above... with so much messaging that is poorly done, why add to the mix your message to. None of us want to be more of the same, dull, unmotivating mess that is content found in profusion. Stop giving them junk. Deliver them something of substance. Mediocre is a waste of time - be extraordinary.

5 ? No one understands what marketing does, including marketers.

Most business people are GREAT at being 'wrench turners' - meaning the mechanics of their job, their responsibility and the performance of tasks. Marketers often spit out the list of tasks they do - build websites, generate leads, create ad copy, develop social media posts, design brochures, produce content videos... and the list runs on and on.

Now here is a great question... Why? Pose the question to your marketer -

"You do _____. So what?"

Fill the in the blank with the service they offer and declare that your business needs. How does _____ solve my problem with ______?

4 ??Most Marketers do not understand sales. Most of Sales are stuck on #5.

Chris Do of TheFutur has several great videos on YouTube talking about what Sales is, and its importance (here is one on - All You Need To Know About Sales in Under 3 Minutes) . In many businesses, there is a war waged between Sales and Marketing. Neither side truly grasps the value of the other. That is a GREAT disservice to the company. When they discover how one feeds the other - then they can do GREAT things - together!!

3 ? Social Media has created unrealistic expectations for Marketing.

Marketing is NOT magic. The 2 are not the same thing. Just as Social Media content has created unrealistic expectations of body image and reality in general, it has also produced a warped sense of expectation from business leaders from what to expect of it. In order to have success, we have to set very clear expectations for our clients so they know what to expect from us and vice versa. While SMM has truly changed the face of marketing forever, the standard of judgement of what it can and cannot do must be clearly addressed.

In the same way, the level of intrusion that marketing has had in our daily lives, has had a negative effect on how we view marketing as a whole. Redefine your approach - don't beat the same drum as all the others out there. More of the same - is just more of the same. You will never stand out by being just the same.

2 ??Marketers can be as annoying as spam!

Automation is a true blessing to busy leaders. It has revolutionized how we do things, by simplifying redundancies and cutting out repetition of effort. I love that. Be careful though, of replacing the human element of connection with spammy engagement. This is the fastest way to cut off potential connections. Pay attention, and do not annoy.

1 ? People are afraid of being screwed - again.

We ALL have had a bad experience. How does that saying go, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Nobody wants to be fooled twice. The problem, is when someone led the charge by providing a poor experience, you are viewed thru the lense of the past failure. We are given the turd sandwich of their past and carry the association of a prior bad experience.

Be patient. Be kind. Be above board - and do NOT screw them over. I am tired of following behind bad experiences of other branding and marketing firms that affect how we are viewed before we even come in the door... But be aware of that as you engage with clients you might have opportunity to win over. It is rarely a completely clean plate. It tends to have unseen smears of something left by the last guy.

Wrap up.

People have a perspective due to experience. We should be a part of changing the experience and redefining the expectation. What are some things that you might add to this list? What are some fixes you might suggest?

Brian Wilson Sykes