The Classic Marketing Flaw

In high school, which wasn’t too long ago, I participated in a club called, DECA. It was a business club that I took for granted. I was not prepared for the “grown up” responsibilities that the club offered us preteens. I stepped up to the plate, though, to be one of the members of the DECA board. This involved a speech and an interview for the position. Many prepared to conquer. As I wrote my speech, as did many of my peers; we practiced and rehearsed for our moment in the spot light. Day in and day out, we spoke aloud to various people to get our speeches perfect. One speech in particular stood above the rest. As it should have, she won the position. Her topic was “Be Present”. A statement and belief that she held on to so strong that it was tattooed on her foot; which she referenced in her speech. Such a brilliant idea.

Fast forward 7 years, to yesterday. I was at a networking event, meeting and greeting. When I spoke with someone who revealed to me the scary truth of today’s businesses. Some (more than I want to admit) are going with the “traditional” approach to their marketing strategy. Either they are doing little, or they are doing nothing. That statement worries me as a marketer, but also as an entrepreneur spirited business man, and as a millennial. Companies that make this conscious decision, make a grave mistake. It worries me that there are companies that stick with strictly traditional marketing, it scares me even more that they have the free will to opt out of marketing entirely.  In a society where paper marketing is seen as taboo and online is embraced as the only form of accurate marketing, these companies will be hindered by such a decision.

My direct thought: if companies are avoiding speaking online for themselves, someone else will, and it may not be to their benefit.  A perfect example. I have had nothing but troubles with Century Link as my internet provider. They decided not to treat me like a person but rather as a number. I took action and tweeted my anger out to whomever would care to listen. To my surprise Direct TV heard my cry and responded. It was nice to have someone on the other end see my hurt and attempt to offer me a change. It turns out that Direct TV partners with Century Link for internet. So that wasn’t an option. But needless to say, Century Link stayed silent. Which added to my discomfort having them provide me with their internet “service”. Companies who stay silent in the conversation we call the internet, will not reflect positively on them in today’s society. It’s almost effortless to show some attention to your consumers, all you have to do is try. All you have to do is BE PRESENT.

My company preaches on authentic leadership, and authenticity in general. This is a message that everyone needs to hear. A part of being authentic is being present. It may not seem appropriate to say that one needs to conform to society, but in this case I think it’s true. If a company wants to succeed in an environment that is forever changing, you need to conform (at least a little) to what the demand is. In this case, it’s being there for your customer. Through the good and the bad. Be authentic. Give a darn about that person on the other end. Just be present.

I think we all should have that tattooed on ourselves. People who don’t care about other people won’t have much of a stand in the years to come. My generation won’t tolerate it, and guess what, we outnumber those who have no moral standards in the workforce. Be an authentic leader brand. Be authentic and be present.