Are You Advertising or Marketing?

Let's face it the majority of marketers in the financial industry work for smaller organizations. If you are in this category we have lulled ourselves into believing we are “Marketing”, when it really comes down to it, it is advertising and event planning.

Don’t get me wrong these aspects of the position need to be accomplished and to be quite frank are the most interesting and fun, however are you strategically positioning the organization based on analytics or just what seems to be fun or intuitive.

Here are two observations I’ve seen and ask yourself each if you have fallen victim of either. I know I have.

First: Marketing from a community, your board, and staff idea is, you are doing your job if they can see the organizations name in the public. This is accomplished either by advertising or the sponsorship of an event.

This first example is where a small shop gets trapped into shying away from being analytical because data for the most part can’t be seen by the public. Marketers receive their kudos from these three groups that see the ads or a sponsorship. So if you direct their attention to these two elements, even if strategically they are wrong, everyone believes you are doing your job.

Listen to yourself the next time you are in a senior meeting where everyone discusses what he or she is working on. 9 times out of 10 times when marketing speaks they fall back into what I call is the pretty paper and colored pen presentation. You discuss the upcoming events, ads, and how many balloons you have ordered. I've seen this even in $10 billion organizations. I’m not saying this information is entirely wrong, but I am saying the discussion should be centered on target markets and profits to strategically achieve a specific goal.

You must elevate yourself and the position to play on the same playing field as finance, mortgage, deposits, and treasury.

Second: Most marketing individuals think they are analytical, however it is only surface. They may say or have heard the correct words, but have they really looked and understood what they are reading.  Analysis really comes about through behavior sciences or how an individual’s brain functions. Marketing individuals can normally be classified as creative or right brain thinkers where analytical individuals are left brain, the part that focuses on reasoning functions. It is rare when someone has both. So if you fall in the creative right brain group just be aware its brain function and not just a lack of knowledge.

Don't stop learning to be an analytical shop just because it makes your head hurt, which I have heard. If you work hard it is possible to train your brain to even enjoy it.  Take a little time to read each of my blogs, go back to school, or just research the subject on the net.  There are some very simple tools or at least knowledge components that can help you become an analytical marketing professional and more desirable in the work place.

This blog is here to help you focus on this other side, the analytical marketer, to go back to the basics of what marketing positions itself should be, however using the fun aspects of the position to execute the strategies that will differentiate your organization from your competition…and to be quite honest differentiate yourself for a brighter future.

If you have additional questions please feel free to e-mail me or just leave a comment.