Choose your own Adventure(s): Executing a Customer-led Marketing Strategy – GET TOUGH
February 24, 2023
GET TOUGH; KNOW YOUR VALUE
🙄 “You’re pretty flexible for a big girl.”
😕 “You’re not really fat, just kind of husky.”
😶 “Well, I mean, you’re really tall, so…”
😤 “Wow, I didn’t think someone so young could be in that role.”
😣 “So basically you don’t really work, you just take people to dinner.”
😠“Marketing is all smoke and mirrors anyway.”
I was in the middle of writing this when I saw Shannon Howard post something about top skills required for a marketing professional. I added a few and included “mental toughness.”
Listen folks, climbing the ladder, doing something new/different, pushing for change, and advocating for anyone takes mental sharpness, but it also takes mental toughness. You need a thick skin to succeed in marketing.
Why am I drawing the comparison between marketing and being fat? Many of you reached out after my post about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (and my weight struggle); in the past several months I decided to take control (as best I could) and make some changes in my personal life…and then a couple of astute folks noticed my new profile photo. And, yes, there’s a story behind it, undoubtedly, to be used in a future post. The point is – the woman in both photos is the same damn person.
Marketing is kind of like being fat. A lot of people judge quickly and think they understand. Example: You’re overweight because you don’t eat healthy food. Sales didn’t hit their numbers because marketing didn’t produce enough leads.
These are superficial statements and mean nothing – they are also false much of the time. But we judge, we go into self-preservation mode, we put others down to make ourselves feel good/appear stronger.
But if the current economic environment and the way marketers have been treated is any indication, these falsehoods and preconceived notions are still alive and well. (And in six to 12 months, companies will be hiring marketers left and right because, “Well, crap, we got rid of marketing!”)
So, to those who are still on the hunt for their next opportunity, to the fat kids, the overweight adults struggling for whatever reason, and all the marketing professionals that are fortunate to have a gig, but are scratching to keep doing more with less, I see YOU.
💪 And there’s a million reasons you shouldn’t have to, but I’m here to say: GET TOUGH; KNOW YOUR VALUE.
And until everyone else has that moment when they realize how valuable you are as a marketer, keep on doing your thing – you know you’re driving value. Keep that mental toughness and enjoy the weekend!
Want to keep following the journey? Follow me on LinkedIn for all kinds of information, resources, and observations around customer-led marketing (and the occasional pet, kid, or vacation photo): https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-a-bukowski
Today’s adventure photo is from my personal adventure; one photo is of me as an awesome marketer; the other photo is me as an awesome marketer.
