By Patrick McNerthney
Marketing nerds (such as myself) love trying to understand how to best prioritize what we do for our employers. Don’t get me wrong, ultimately we understand that the bottom line is to sell more stuff—whatever that may be—but there’s a lot to do before we get to that point:
- Host cocktail parties.
- Watch and share cat memes.
- Point out funny ads and go, “That’s a good one.”
- Re-evaluate career choice.
- Justify job to CEO.
- And a bunch of other stuff…
(Only cuter if in meme form).
Which is the most important? Which comes last? Man, who knows? Let’s say it’s all good. Marketing is hard enough for us professionals to manage, let alone you normal people. But the truth is (and this may come as a shock), marketing is everything that touches the market with the intention of creating conditions for connection; and I’m saying ANY kind of connection.
This means traditional departments like:
- Customer service
- Tech support
- Human resources
- C-level leadership (CEOs, CFOs, CCs (Chief Chief), etc.)
- Sales
- And a bunch of others
Are all actually in “marketing.”
Pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? That’s right–you got it! virtually everyone within any organization is in marketing (we just don’t tell them so, mum’s the word, okay?). Although, maybe actuaries, comptrollers, and CPA’s are so incredibly isolated in their weird number crunching worlds that they aren’t part of the marketing machine. But I can’t be sure—I’m scared to talk to those people.
So that’s all very woke and inclusive, but what makes people in jobs defined as “Marketing” unique is that they’re involved in an aspect of marketing known as promotions. Promotions are things like ads, emails, web copy, or putting a sign in your front yard that says “Garage Sale” when you’re having a…well…garage sale. That means creating PROMOTIONS is the only true differentiator between someone who is a professional “marketer” and those poor schleps just doing their jobs answering the phone when angry customers call. I’ll save my speech on the details behind promotions for another 22 or so blog posts (the only thing I like more than DOING more than promotions is TALKING about promotions and how they work). The real take away is, you, as a caregiver for the elderly, children with challenges, or anyone needing help with life’s daily tasks—are in the business of creating conditions for connection. YOU are a marketer.
(This is a nice visual representation of what marketing is really all about).
So how are you going to market your wares, especially when you feel like you’re taxed to the limit or otherwise running out of steam? Hmm, let me think…Oh! I know somebody who can help: Fine Art Miracles (FAM).
FAM champions creative expression as the perfect tool to help your residents and loved ones win their battle with social isolation (which was around long before the pandemic, and will be around long after). That’s because Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Drama Therapy, Dance & Movement Therapy, Art 2 Go packages (and soooooo much more) reconnect those struggling with anxiety and depression with their self-worth, confidence, sense of mastery, optimism, and belief that they MATTER. That’s right! These tools blatantly create conditions for connection. And when connection happens, the anxiety and depression caused by social isolation doesn’t stand a chance.
So what are you waiting for, an invite to a cocktail party? I’ll work on that—but in the meantime, hit up FAM by phone or emai; they’re happy to explain the deets and get you started with your program of choice.
Well, I’m off to a week-long strategy meeting for work. We’re gonna talk about super complicated ways to reach customers over the next year, and I’ll likely get really confused as I try to look like I’m following. Hopefully we remember, in the end, our job is to connect our customers with what matters most to them. And pie. The secondary hope is that the venue will have desserts aplenty and these will include a wide variety of pie.
