Marketing first

I only took one unit of marketing at formal university; it was an elective I chose back when I did my journalism degree.

But that one unit taught me what I still think is one of the most important lessons for any of us in business: marketing comes first.

Or at least, it should.

True marketing starts with knowing your ideal clients. With research, with listening to their stories, with seeing deeply into who they are.

Understanding your clients provides the direction of how and where to grow. The stories you hear reveal the opportunities to serve.

This stands in contrast to the person who creates a new product or has a fabulous idea for an app, then builds it, then wants to create an amazingly special marketing campaigns that will sell it. They need eye candy, want attention, and often find themselves pushing uphill. The cart is before the horse: using your marketing agency as the last step in the chain makes it difficult to get anywhere.

So, keep marketing first.

Hear a client’s story. Then create the solutions to their questions.