Navigating Through the Marketing Wilderness
By Jerry Rackley
I just returned from vacation where I was truly able to disconnect. Good vacations restore and sharpen you, and this one was no exception. But it’s hard to completely disassociate yourself from who you are and what you do professionally when you’re gone, and when someone brings up marketing, I just can’t resist joining the conversation, even when I’m on vacation in the Rocky Mountains.
Some close friends of mine run a retreat center and camp near Buena Vista, Colorado. I try to visit them each year when I’m in the mountains to share memories, laugh and get caught up on each other’s lives. This was the setting of the aforementioned marketing discussion. My friends are great camp hosts and administrators, but they are feeling genuine angst and guilt about what they are not doing when it comes to marketing. I wanted to share the insights that came from this conversation, because I know my friends are not alone.
The passion my friends have for their mission is reflected in the culture and every visible element of the camp. Sure, they could use more resources than they have, but I’ve had an association with this camp for 40 years and it is more vibrant and well maintained now than ever. And yet, marketing vexes these fine people. They know they need to invest in doing it, but it falls outside their sphere of experience and understanding. The fact that very little formal marketing is occurring troubles them. Sure, there’s marketing going on, but it’s accidental. They clearly wish for something more intentional.
Since they’re smart, resourceful people, they’ve sought outside help. A “marketing in a box” solution was obtained that provided some direction and help. In fact, just recently, one of the more marketing-oriented staff members completed the templates, did the analysis and prepared the deliverables the marketing kit directed. The camp director was impressed with the result. But the inevitable question remains: what now? Knowing where to go and getting there are two very different matters.
The experience this camp is having with marketing is a common one. Many organizations know they need to do it, don’t have the experience and resources to do it alone, and find solutions that point them in a generally helpful marketing direction. But in the end, it’s rarely enough to get them where they want to be, and many organizations bump into their limitations and eventually walk away, concluding that marketing is a luxury for which they don’t have the time, patience or resources. It’s a feeling much like being given a destination with no map, compass or guide.
Demand Metric provides hope and resources for organizations like these that view marketing as a fruitless endeavor. Tools and templates are great, and we have a plethora of them – approaching 400 at last count. We recognize that tools aren’t always enough, so we’ve structured memberships for wherever you are on marketing expertise spectrum that will take you where you want to go. Our consultant members rarely need advisory services from us. Members with deep pockets of marketing expertise and resources value the time our tools and templates save them in performing their work. Other members are quite capable, but simply need some services to help them through the busy times when they’re bandwidth constrained. And finally, for those who feel lost in the marketing wilderness, we can equip you with provisions and guide you back to civilization.
We’ve been distilling marketing best practices into tools and templates for over five years now. That expertise is available to our members in several forms. Let us know how we can help you get from where you are to where you want to be.
