The Marketing Dumpster Fire

The Marketing Dumpster Fire

A lot of our clients come to us because they need more sales.

Someone in the company always has the solution: “We need more/better/updated marketing!”

Most companies are already doing a lot of marketing but haven’t consolidated that into a function in the company that is planned, managed and measured like production, sales or finance.?

Here’s what we see when we start working with companies:

Marketing Hot Mess

Many of our clients have had marketers come and go, use multiple suppliers, or have several people in the company working on marketing tasks.? This is very typical of companies in growth mode but the problem with this situation is that no one has their eye on the ball.?

We see companies duplicating spending on digital marketing, not knowing who owns their website URL, or paying to create videos of products that they’ve already done before but no one can find the files.

Right People in the Wrong Seat

To use Jim Collins’ (Good to Great) analogy, we often see great people who are problem solvers and detail-oriented in marketing roles.? The problem is, they’re in another role already.? Just because someone is young, has an eye for design, or is in sales doesn’t mean they know how to or have the time to manage marketing.

Every time we’ve seen people adding marketing to their existing role, there’s usually some implosion – great people are overworked and quit and/or marketing investments aren’t paying off.

Checking the Box

These days, our ‘To Do’ lists are just too long to get everything done.? It’s no surprise that when a marketing supplier comes knocking with promises that check a lot of boxes, business owners and managers jump at the opportunity.? This ‘Check the Box’ mentality frees up brain space and attention but it doesn’t ensure that the marketing activities are doing what they’re supposed to – namely increasing sales at a cost that doesn’t negate all the additional sales revenue.

Between our partners, Bench Strength Marketing has over 60 years of marketing experience.? We know that marketing is like a fire extinguisher – no one cares where it is until they’ve got a fire on their hands.? Most of our clients appreciate that they don’t have to explain or give us direction.? We’ve got this.