The Tribune

By D’Arcy Rahming

I wrote in an earlier column about how systems are integrating marketing, finance and even operations with marketing leading the way. This is because without marketing a firm will truly die. I want to clarify this further by saying that without a doubt a marketing person needs to be someone who is more extroverted than introverted. The marketer should be able to see outside of himself (herself) in order to meet the needs of his clients or customer.

A few years ago a friend of mine once advised me that since I was involved in so many things, I would never be successful and that I should determine what is my defining moment each day. He had come from a background which was very unstable so he had a deep rooted fear of poverty and a desire for certainty. At that time I was very hurt by his rejection of what seemed normal for me. Then I realised that he suffered from what many marketers suffer. Everybody does not think the same as you, nor do they have your priorities or values.

When designing your marketing campaign if you write things based on your own beliefs that campaign is probably doomed unless you are marketing to people exactly like you. Some marketers go the other way and try to have an all encompassing program. A shotgun type approach. They say my product is for everyone. Everyone can benefit from using it. And then they are surprised when their campaign falls flat because it is too generic.

Yet others will write campaigns just to please their boss. So they will always take a safe route of the tried and true. You may be surprised to hear me say, this is a much smarter strategy because at least you are writing to please a direct person. When I first began my marketing consulting business I wanted to be right and to try all kind of things. It took me a while to realize painfully that being right does not make you rich! There is a political reality when you are working for a client. While you work must be effective, it must be effective in the context of satisfying those that are hiring you.

In many ways successful marketing is a game of numbers. A constant testing and measuring of results. It is not the field for those who are looking for safety. Because there are no assurances that what made your campaign work so brilliantly yesterday will continue to work in the future. Marketing is a field that you need to look outside of yourself and constantly try to adapt to what others are thinking.

• D’Arcy Rahming holds a MBA from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A Lecturer at the College of the Bahamas. Rahming has clients in General Insurance, retail, health and medical fields, sports federations and Financial services. He is also Treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://darcyrahming.com.