True lies: clearing up the misconceptions about marketing

Entrepreneur, August, 1996 by Jay Conrad Levinson

Guerillas know that "marketing" is just a fancy word for selling and treating people well. It is more common sense and patience than anything else. But many people think marketing is a bunch of things it isn't. To make sure you're clear on the definition, let's look at what marketing is not.

1. Marketing is not advertising. Don't think for a second that because you're advertising you're marketing. No way. There are over 100 weapons of marketing out there. Advertising is one of them, true, but there are 99 others. If you are just advertising, you are doing only 1 percent of what you could be doing.

2. Marketing is not direct mail. Some companies think they can get all the business they need with direct mail. Mail order firms may be right about this. But most businesses need a plethora of other marketing weapons for their direct mail to succeed. If you are doing direct mail only, you're no guerrilla.

3. Marketing is not telemarketing. For business-to-business enterprises, it's true, few marketing weapons succeed as well as telemarketing (if You use scripts). But telemarketing response can be dramatically improved by augmenting it with advertising and direct mail. Marketing is no telemarketing alone.

4. Marketing is not brochures. Many companies rush to produce a brochure about the benefits they offer, then pat themselves on the back for the quality of the brochure. Is that brochure marketing? It is a very important part of your marketing arsenal when mixed with 10 or 15 other very important parts - but all by itself? Forget it!

5. Marketing is not show business There's no business like show business, and that includes marketing. Think of marketing as sell business, as create-a-desire business, as motivation business. But don't think of yourself as being in the entertainment business because marketing is not supposed to entertain.

6. Marketing is not a stage for humor. If you use humor in your marketing, people will recall your funny joke but not your compelling offer. If you use humor, it will be funny the first time, and maybe the second time, too. After that, it will become grating and will get in the way of what makes marketing work - repetition.

7. Marketing is not an Invitation to be clever. If you fall into the cleverness trap, it's because you don't realize people remember the cleverest part of the marketing, not the part they should remember: your offer.

8. Marketing is not complicated. It becomes complicated for people who fail to grasp its simplicity. But true guerrillas know marketing is user-friendly. They simply start with a guerrilla marketing plan, create a marketing calendar and select their weapons. Now, that's not complicated, is it?

9. Marketing is not a miracle worker. More money has been wasted due to marketers expecting miracles than due to any other misconception of marketing. If you do it right, marketing is the best investment in America. But remember, doing it right requires commitment, patience and planning. Expect miracles, and you'll get ulcers.

Now that you know what marketing isn't, here's what marketing is: It's an opportunity for you to earn profits with other businesses in your community or industry. It's a process of building lasting relationships. It's a topic that intimidates many business owners, so they steer clear of it. Big mistake.

For guerrillas marketing holds no mystique. And it's a whale of a lot of fun because they enjoy launching a marketing attack and knowing they'll succeed.

Jay Conrad Levinson is author of the internationally acclaimed Guerrilla Marketing series of books and co-founder of Guerilla Marketing International. For information on the Guerrilla Marketing Newsletter and other products and service, write to P.O. Box 1336, Mill Valley, CA 94942; call (800) 748-6444; or visit the Web site at http:/www.gmarketing.com.