Years ago when I decided to go to school for marketing, I understood it as basically going to school for advertising. And in my head there were a handful of different ways to be in “marketing” and they essentially came down to different ad tactics. There were businesses that went for print ads in newspapers, catalogs, flyers, and magazines and others who haphazardly slapped their logos, phone numbers and slogans on things like business cards and brochures. Next there were my favorite kind of marketers: the ones in TV who had all the funny commercials with memorable characters and all the clever jokes. And then of course there were those forward thinking companies that took the time to develop informative websites designed to answer all your questions in an interactive way. To me, a particularly good marketing team was doing all of these things in some capacity and that made sense. But of course I was mostly wrong. If the true DNA of marketing could be condensed into merely ad campaigns coupled with promotional products, things would be a lot simpler I can tell you! But in fact there are plenty of companies wildly successful that don’t necessarily use all of these tactics because they understand themselves and their customers so deeply that they can sidestep the whole conversation and move directly to what will work best for their business. And later I would learn about how to do a marketing analysis, taking a closer look at the business marketing mix, or what we would call “The 4 P’s” (price, product, promotion, place) and customizing a marketing strategy from the ground up, but that’s a story for a different blog!

I found marketing as a study very interesting in college, but it turned out that it was more complex and in-depth from what I originally believed my whole life.  I was looking for something that would be simple, direct, and have a clear and concise answer (this would be accounting more than marketing). But obviously the truth is none of the initial approaches or tactics I visualized are inherently marketing in and of themselves. I know there are many out there who want to look at their business and say “Well I made a brochure and a website and a couple of people have my business card with my e-mail and I consider that enough”. First off, there is no “enough”. Marketing is a living process that is constant and evolving. Truly great marketers seek to understand their target markets and speak to them on a level that makes them stand out from their peers, full well knowing that when they “knock the pins down” those pins will stand right back up with follow-up questions. Secondly, those attempts are the bare bones minimum and in certain specific situations are not even necessary. The thing to figure out is how to reach the target market for a product or service in a way that suits you, the potential customer, and the product or service being represented.

It’s easy to get lost in the madness of this. It can be a drag to choose to do something professionally because you were passionate about it, but then be saddled with the realities of a fickle free market and plenty of people with their heads in the clouds and their noses in their phones. It’s much easier to grow an ignorance toward your own marketing structure like it’s a project you’ve had all semester that you haven’t attempted to start. And then what will happen is you will put it off until it’s basically too late. Out of desperation you’ll visualize promotional products as a serious differentiation strategy from your competitors. You’ll say things like “a new website will help me stand out” or you’ll make a premature decision to design a completely different company logo. Someone will come along and have an awesome printing company that can print you flyers. And by the way he has a friend that makes t-shirts and can take that new logo to the next level for a price. One thing leads to another and before you know it you can look at your new logo on a coffee mug, a hat, a banner, and a cigar box. Your also now taking phone calls from guys who want to sell you customized pens, footballs, and car decals. Sadly if your luck is like most people’s, a lot of the time you’ll find out after the fact that 80% of your customers never went to the original website and you were doing better by word of mouth than you had realized. Then you abandoned your logo and the chance to sooner solidify a brand because you were unsure of the one you already had, and worst of all you spent a lot of money on promotional products that may or may not be beneficial. It’s like because the marketing demons were knocking and you needed to repent to a physical deity that proved you tried. I absolutely understand that something tangible makes it feel real, but keep in mind the guy making the mugs and t-shirts isn’t there for you he is there for himself. If you’re an entrepreneur reading this, realize there are a lot of people trying to sell you.

If the research shows your product is one prone to succeeding with the help of promotional items, that is a fun space to be in and I say have at it. Remember to be original and creative with it. There are plenty of companies that even offer bundling for different promotional items too. But measure the quality of these resources in and of themselves and treat them like the bonuses they are. They are not and should not be the lifeblood of your business unless you are the one selling promotional items! Of course this leaves some people without a clear and simple answer to marketing questions and are back at square one depressed and confused. If that’s the case heed my former professor’s advice and “Consider becoming an accountant!” and have a professional, like Purple Diamond, handle the marketing side of the business.

Written by Guest Blogger – Ken Pellegrino.   Ken Pellegrino is a freelance writer and part-time marketer at Purple Diamond LLC with a background in business management, marketing, sales and customer relations. A graduate from Salem State University’s Bertolon School of Business with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing, Ken shares his passion for marketing and sales with the owner of Purple Diamond, his mother, Charlene St Jean. In addition to his love of marketing, Ken is also a talented guitarist who enjoys both writing and playing music.