I’ve been marketing for around 5 years now, originally doing copywriting for my brother’s company. Over the years we’ve grown our client base, and now we manage around 15 companies’ marketing on a monthly basis, with more irregularly.
Despite being an experienced marketer and having a decent track record (lots of case studies) behind me, I still hit some regular obstacles. Of course, marketing is difficult and requires nonstop research, but the majority of the obstacles I encounter are outside of the marketing work itself.
The most consistent of these, above all else, is wannabe marketers trying to fuck up our relationship with clients.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind competition, but there’s a big difference between competition and being a lying prick.
Whether it’s promising over-the-top statistics (that are nothing todo with leads or sales) such as “over a million views” and “first result on Google searches for every search”, or simply trying to ride the coat tails of my marketing’s success (by providing a worthless service that just tails off of my existing marketing campaign); wannabe marketers are a never ending headache.
Whilst existing clients will either ignore or question them, potential clients are generally much more susceptible to wannabe marketer’s advice. Whilst they might suspect that it’s too good to be true, they can’t help but be lured into the false promises. After all, on paper me and the wannabe marketer are just offering the same service.
The problem is that the client:
- Doesn’t understand marketing metrics, so when someone promises them millions of views or clicks this sounds enticing even though it means absolutely nothing relative to sales or leads.
- They don’t know which marketing campaign will actually make them money, so they’re going to go for the best sales pitch (which tends to be the one where they overpromise results).
I understand why they go for these wannabe marketers, but the issues don’t stop with us losing the potential client, it’s also the ramifications of having a so many liars within our industry. As a result of their tomfoolery, there are a countless number of business owners who don’t trust marketers and think we’re all frauds.
Luckily I’ve been able to thrive with my clients, and many of them are happy to reinvest within their marketing which helps us both grow as a result. If they didn’t do this, though, I would probably be forced to overpromise or compete with these wannabe marketers‘ ridiculous metrics. And, to put it simply, being a fraud is simply something I will never comprehend.
SIR THORNEY 