Good Marketing Boring: The Secret That Only Marketers Know

When someone says marketing, what’s the first thing you imagine? Super Bowl commercials, catchy campaigns, beautiful visuals, bold statements, BIG THINGS. And while all that is great and needs to be there to get attention, the real marketing is actually damn boring. And if it's boring, it will work.

It might be a total revelation for you if you don’t work in marketing, but if you are day in and day out thinking about how to deliver growth, new clients, product launches, and website conversions, you will have endless meetings, the dry analytics, the tedious A/B testing...it's enough to put you to sleep faster than a mug of warm milk.

I had two conversations today with my awesome marketing colleagues, and we talked about two different events. One was a roaring success, while the other... let's say, it was perfect for "lessons learned" to share. We dug into what worked and what didn't, and it wasn't about coming up with the most creative ideas. Instead, we found that consistency and follow-up, as well as a deep understanding of your target audience and their revenue potential, were key to achieving success.

At the early stages of my career, people in the room would look at me and say, "You are in marketing, make it beautiful. Or why can't you come up with something that is REALLY creative?" OMG, how frustrated and sad I felt those times. And yes, we had cool campaigns, ideas, innovations, and fun. But you know what made it all work? Metrics, audience insights, funnel marketing, conversion calculations, and so on.

Here's the thing: the boring stuff is often what really makes a difference. It's not about flashy gimmicks or bold statements. It's about understanding your audience and knowing how to deliver the right message, at the right time, and in the right way.

Think of it like a game of chess. Think 2 (in my case... I know! I still need to master the game) or 3-4 moves ahead. See the full picture. Understand the audience. What do they like? What drives them? Why would they even notice you? What makes them tick? Once you have this intel, you can start mapping out your strategy.

Consistency is key. You can't just fire off a single message and expect to make an impact. You need to reinforce your messaging, over and over and over again, until it sticks. Like a catchy song that gets stuck in your head for days. It's annoying, sure, but it gets the job done.

And don't forget the follow-up! You can't just send out a single email or social media post and call it a day. You need to keep the momentum going, following up with your audience and making sure they know you're there for them. It's like dating, but without awkward small talk.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "But what about all the fun stuff? The viral videos, the witty tweets, the memes?" Sure, those can be effective too. But they're not a silver bullet. If you don't have the basics down, your fancy gimmicks are just going to fall flat.

So, if you want to be a marketing master, embrace the boring stuff. Get to know your audience, deliver consistent messaging, and follow up like a champ. It may not be glamorous, but it'll get you results. And you'll feel a lot less pressure to come up with the next viral meme.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to check the dashboard of a really cool campaign we just launched, and I'll dive into metrics and numbers. Yay!