If you want to be part of a marketing and communications team, make sure you choose a really good organization. The quality of their products and services, the kindness and integrity of their employees, and the clear vision of their leadership will mean everything.
I love Seth Godin’s definition: “Marketing is telling a story about your value that resonates enough with people that they want to give you money.” We choose good organizations so we can tell true stories.
The best marketing teams highlight reality. We report what we observe. When good things are happening, value is being provided, customers are being cared for, and services are meeting needs, our jobs are easy.
Marketers are reporters. We probe and discover and make ourselves aware of all the important details. We ask questions. We keep digging to find the story. When we do, we tell it accurately, carefully, in detail, and in the right places.
When a great story is true, it resonates with us. We want to pass it along. We have enthusiasm about it. We care how it is presented. We want it to reach exactly the right people. We put in the work to make it right. Details become really important. We want people to know what we know.
What if your story has flaws? What if enthusiasm is limited? What if some of the details are less than ideal?
I think this is where marketers have the advantage over journalists. Journalists aren’t part of their stories. They have no influence on the people or the facts. They cannot and should not intervene. Communications teams are up to their neck in it all!
Staff members, telling the story of a brand must speak up. We must explain the problems we discover internally, making management aware. Good leaders always respond. They don’t ask us to pretend or to exaggerate or to make that part disappear from our storytelling. They work to make it right.
Marketing should never become salesmanship. We don’t try to make people believe one thing, knowing they may soon discover another. Our job is not to make the business “look good” when it’s not good. If this becomes our job, we need to consider our long-term career options.
I’ve worked in journalism or communications (with some gaps and some crossover) since 1996. When reporting, I told the true stories of other people. When marketing, I told the true story of my own organization. Apart from the key difference I’ve already explained, I find them very similar.
Good journalists have a strict code of ethics. I strongly urge marketing leaders to develop something similar. News readers and listeners, just like potential customers, deserve the truth. They expect integrity. If they can’t trust the people delivering the message, they won’t stay long.
If you have the privilege of working for an excellent organization, I know you want other people to hear about it. Tell them. Use every skill and creative idea you have. Make a detailed report. Not everyone you reach will make an investment, but those that do will thank you.