People have a lot of what I politely call strange ideas about marketing. Most people wouldn’t do their own plumbing for their home. Most people wouldn’t try to set their own broken bone. When it comes to hiring a professional, people pretty instantly recognize that they need to hire a lawyer, doctor, plumber, electrician, etc when they need a service done.
But when it comes to marketing, many people think they can do it on their own. To a certain extent, anyone can do some marketing. But when it comes to high-level success, hiring a professional is the best move. Let’s break down why.
1. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell proposes that it takes 10,000 hours dedicated to a specific field in order to become an expert at it. Even if you cut that time in half, you are likely a few thousand hours shy of being a marketing expert.
Marketing experts have dedicated their livelihood to knowing the psychological triggers to getting people interested in an ad and then keeping them interested.
2. Professional marketers have an external perspective. You are likely too close to your business to really and truly see what improvements it needs. Successful marketing requires someone providing an external, objective view point. Maybe you think your calls to action are perfect, but maybe they’re not. What if some of the nuggets you’re providing to get people interested in your products or services are good, but could be a lot better? Someone who hasn’t built and managed your business as long as you have will know these things.
3. Professionals can help you develop a holistic strategy. This is as opposed to what many marketers do, which is a halfhearted attempt here and a halfhearted attempt there with little success in either place. Advertising on Facebook and/or in your local print publication can provide benefits, but without an overarching strategy you’ll likely not see long-lasting benefits.
Professionals marketers know that no one is going to knock on your door and ask for whatever it is that you are selling unless they first know who you are, what you do, and trust that you can deliver on your promises. Communicating all of that effectively, and in the most cost-efficient way means hiring someone with those core competencies. In other words…hire a plumber when you need a plumber. Hire a marketer when it comes to marketing.
Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash
