Give up. It’s way more trouble than it’s worth. Pare down your expectations. Just keep it simple. With choice comes confusion. It’s all a matter of luck really anyway. Cut a funny TV commercial and do some digital video and a billboard. Pray. Make a really good product. All the data in the world can’t fix a greasy hamburger, a yucky restroom, a worthless widget or terrible customer service. People talk to each other. If they like a product they’ll recommend it. Not everybody can be #1. Settle for #2… or even #17. Whatever, right?! If you’re in business and things are humming along you really can’t complain. Meanwhile, consumers are people. People are incomprehensible. Their moods and tastes change faster than you can say High Value Target Audience.
Marketers, don’t take yourself so seriously. You are not Relationship Scientists, Brand Architects or Cultural Anthropologists. I mean, call yourself that – at the risk of sounding silly! But for heaven’s sake, with the credibility of marketing technology in the gutter, do not tell people that you are a Digital Marketing Engineer. If my Algorithm is correct, “AI” is DOA, so keep that term on the DL. But if you insist on making up for shortcomings with a fancy job description, call yourself whatever you’d like but answer the following questions first: Why are we so confused? What advertising really works? Why do so many disagree? Why is marketing and advertising not as effective as it once was? Why is this industry so susceptible to fads?
