In my many years of life, one thing I have learned with certainty is that nothing is common sense until the first time someone tells it to you.
In the last year I have given my "Who's Afraid of Marketing?" workshop to 10 audiences of varying size. Some have been internal (within my employer's company) groups; others have been professional organization groups. All of the groups were mostly technical people.
While all teachers learn from their students, I have been amazed and disappointed to learn the following:
- Everybody had a business card, frequently giving it to people they met and introducing themselves. Nobody knew that giving away business cards and introducing themselves was marketing.
- Many attendees had never heard of an "elevator speech" and those who had were unsure of its components. Some had given one without realizing it. Nobody knew that the "elevator speech" was a marketing tool.
- Most were sort of "iffy" about the need to return calls to clients within a reasonable period of time (hopefully, less than half a day). Nobody knew that returning these calls could be a marketing task.
- Most had, at some point, remarked to a client, "We're almost through with this project; what's next?" Nobody knew that asking this question was a marketing task.
- Everyone said they had done good work on a project. Nobody had made the connection that doing good work could position your firm for the next project, and was therefore a marketing tool.
It seems very strange to me that someone would teach a "newby" to present a business card and introduce himself but not explain the reason for the action, or its value. Or that someone would teach that same "newby" any of the other four items listed above with no explanation of its marketing nature and value.
Perhaps marketing departments have a much greater role to play than simply writing SOQs and proposals. Perhaps marketing departments really exist to teach the technical folks "what it's all about" if they want to have new projects when they finish what's on their desks today.