Fundamental things apply
Great line for a song?
We all know the words, written by Herman Hupfeld from the song ‘As time goes by’, made famous in the movie Casablanca.
It also applies to marketing, particularly the explosion of techniques and tricks that have emerged with digital technology.
Despite all the rumors and offers of instant success, there is no algorithm for great marketing, no sure fire way of short-cutting the risks and uncertainty.
Great marketing takes time, effort, resources, curiosity and a willingness to be different, to see things others have not seen, to create the uncreatable.
You do not do that in front of a screen, the best you can do there is look at the results of stuff you have tried, get a superficial look at what others have tried, and manage digital development and deployment.
Instead of relying on digital bits to do the work, you have to get out and talk to customers, potential customers and others who may have an influence on the way a product is produced, delivered and valued by customers, whether they be a consumer of a simple product or a major corporation making a significant investment.
The fundamental things apply, the same things that have always applied, they have not been replaced by digital tricks.
We can now deliver a message to a tightly defined audience, as small as one, but if the message is poor, wrongly targeted, the product fails to deliver value, you may as well whistle in a hurricane for all the good it will do you.
Make sure the basics are covered, ensure the fundamental things that make a marketing program work are in place. There is no substitute.
