The Greatest Marketing isn’t Marketing

From billboards to chatbots

Marketing found growth in the United States of the ’60s, where people in tall buildings and smoky rooms created ad copies for billboards and scripts for Coca-Cola TV ads. The whole consumption logic by the American people fed the marketing industry, and the industry returned the favor.

Then, the evolution of technology started and the business world hasn’t been the same since that day. Computers, tools, methods, and variables drastically changed and haven’t stopped evolving since then.

The thing is that, even if we get to the point where we have flying cars and lightsabers, marketing will still rotate around one certain thing, human psychology. Marketing, advertising, sales, there are all niches based on one thing: Happiness.

The Marketing Essence

As a young boy, I would often spend my afternoons with my mother at her cosmetics store. My mother is a very talkative person, especially with me and my brother, whom she wanted to offer a world of knowledge. For that reason, she would always explain to me customer behaviorism, the role of the product, crisis management, and many other aspects of having a business.

The first rule is that you have to know your product.

The second rule is that you have to know your audience.

If you can match information from the above two sources then you have a very strong behavioral base to develop your business.

Moreover, she insisted on the importance of being unique. Success comes from standing out, not fitting in. It is of great importance to know your competition, but that doesn’t mean that you have to copy them. When you have a personality as a brand or as an entrepreneur, you give people the chance to feel like they belong somewhere, that’s priceless.

Last but not least, make it simple but significant. The marketing essence can be summed into just three words: Happiness, Uniqueness, Community.

Old-School Approach

People nowadays think that working in marketing has to do exclusively with tools and platforms. The thing is, tools and platforms will change as time goes by, the core of marketing knowledge isn’t something so superficial as a Social Media channel or a photo-editing tool.

As mentioned before, the core, the basis of marketing lies deep down into human consciousness. For that reason, it is essential to interpret human behavior, understand your client’s traits and offer them an interpersonal experience.

Marketing nowadays seems to be all about fancy words and automation but giving your business relationships more attention, that’s a winner factor. Why? Because it builds trust and loyalty, and that’s what you want from your clients, to trust you and be loyal.

Know who you are

When it comes to business in general, most people believe that numbers, trends, and virality are the stairway to success. In contrast, details make the difference and it’s in the details that you have to invest if you want to make long-lasting relationships with your clients.

As Donald Draper famously said, “Creativity is the least important, most important thing there is”, that phrase contains all the talk about the importance of character in business. When you add creativity in your work, in your decisions, even in the way you exist as a business, you add character in your work, which means uniqueness.

Paradoxically though, “unique” is interwoven with “trust” in business.

A circle of trust is a non-realistic place where you can -and should- build a community of people that support you and your services. From there, you can get to the point where your clients are considered advocates. That’s a terrific way to grow your business.

In final analysis it is safe to conclude that marketing is all about reassurance. If you can indirectly persuade your clients that “Everything is going to be ok” then I can assure you that everything is going to be ok for your business as well.