ReThink Marketing - Part 2 - Media Going Wrong
by Sid Raisch
Media Going Wrong
In the bigger picture marketing is much more than advertising. It is more than social media. What is it? Marketing is communication with a specific chosen group of people in language they understand and empowering them to act to support their interests, not ours.
The Marketplace Mantra: “It is the marketer’s responsibility to communicate to our marketplace information to make them want to buy.”
I promised the next article in this series (this one) would reveal more on this important topic - especially the part about using marketing to gain a measured increase in the sale of our products and services. Click Here to Read Part 1 if you didn't or to refresh.
Marketing is a place of vulnerability for garden centers. For starters, most owners didn’t get into this business because they’re natural born, or even educated marketers. Even if they were, or are, all of us are fish out of water in today's media environment. Does it matter? You bet it does. Nobody gets very far ahead in their business if their marketing stinks.
For many garden centers, marketing efforts are now almost entirely limited to email newsletters and social media posts. These are generally accepted to be “work”-ing, however the relative effectiveness is slipping.
As consumers the way we consume media has been shifted. We don’t gather around the Victrola for evening entertainment, news reports, and “Fireside Chats”, like everyone did in the 40’s. We don’t tune in the telly to Walter Cronkite and the nightly news or to keep up with our favorite Soap Operas and Sitcoms like everyone did in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. We don’t share our breakfast with the newspaper, or come home and sit down to read the daily newspaper. And we also no longer consume as much placed public relations planted stories in those places. Instead we have our eyeballs primarily on the small screens and get all of our news, entertainment, and consumption of advertising and public relations planted stories from these devices in our hands, almost entirely through email, social media, and rapidly evolving SMS/Text messages.
These newer media have become not just a primary means of communication with consumers, in many cases they are the only means of communication with them.
Most of us have learned, working harder isn’t working better. All the insanity of effort going into spinning the gerbil wheel of social posts creation is not going to make it “work” any better.
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Most of us have learned, working smarter isn’t working better, or we’re going to be learning it as we’re slammed into the dead end wall. The latest media gimmicks and gadgetry, tricks and tools like Video, Reels and Stories aren’t getting better results.
This is not saying working hard, and being smart aren’t important. They just aren’t going to overcome our lack of doing what actually does work better.
The Good News is - it isn’t how hard we work, or how smart we become to get ahead that actually gets us ahead - It’s what we actually accomplish.
The playing field of media is rapidly changing. This is not new - it is different this time around like it was different the last time it changed, and we have to adapt to the new lay of the land in order to actually accomplish something better.
Our customers have only so much time to give their attention to marketing media. There is more content being forced upon them in their feeds, and more feeds to spread their limited time across. In turn, we have more media to publish to, if we’re going to just keep up with all of it. And we also have no more time than we had before.
I need to finally remove any idea you may have remaining in your head that working harder and smarter at social media is going to work any better in the future than it is right now, and it certainly isn’t going to be as effective as it has been in the past.
Here’s why.
The rise of success with social media was easy with low resistance because it was “free”, except for the labor to create the posts. Now the “free ride” is all but gone. In fact, it is becoming more expensive by the minute. Meta, TikTok, and Google are all finding more ways to make money from both advertisers and their audiences. They’re launching ad-free subscriptions in Europe in October. “Meta Verified” is rolling out now at a steep fee paid by advertisers to help their audience know it is the real you who their audience is seeing on their platforms.
These media conglomerates are among the very largest and most profitable companies in world history, and they are motivated and compensated to grow even bigger. These media are sucking even greater profit out of their customers' and advertisers' businesses so they can become even bigger.
Remember when big manufacturing conglomerates like General Motors and Ford were near the very top?
Remember when big service companies like IBM, Nationwide, and Chase were a bigger deal?
Remember big retailers like Macy’s, Target, and Walmart were the brightest of shining stars?
Today social media has inserted itself into our lives above all of these in our lives and our economies of time and money. Now retailers like Walmart and Amazon are seeing the light and beginning to compete differently by selling advertising within their own media platforms where their and our customers are also spending time and attention.
BIG DEAL: Media can only be as effective as the messaging contained within is at cutting through the clutter of all the other feed content.
What’s still true about marketing and media…
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “It’s the message, not the media.” This has never been more true. While the media we use is changing in some mysterious ways, we can work on our messaging. Media cannot be completely ignored but we can shift our focus and work on standing apart from the noise all the other marketers are making.
BIGGER DEAL: While we’re trying harder and smarter to overcome the issues with social media, there are Acres of Diamonds just out of sight all around us. Watch this video to hear the Acres of Diamonds story and come back to learn more in ReThink Marketing Part 3 - Mining Your Diamonds.
To go into this Diamond Mine we will need to bring with us this commitment:
The Marketplace Mantra: “It is the marketer’s responsibility to communicate to our marketplace information to make them want to buy.”
And next time I’m going to share with you exactly how to wrap this commitment up and tie it off with a bow to do something so simple and so critically important. That’s right, it is to SELL MORE of the only thing we measure that really matters to the people who will buy it - our products and services.
When you’re ready to up your marketing game, get in touch. Your membership in The Garden Center Group entitles you to a courtesy videoconference call to discuss your situation. Get in touch by Text or Cell at 937-302-0423, or email (below) Or...
Click HERE to Schedule a Time to Talk With Sid.
Sid Raisch is an advocate for family business leading growth, change, and results throughout US horticulture. Redefining the business future for consumer horticulture by understanding how the end-to-end supply chain needs to be redirected is a skill Sid has honed into an art. He has understanding and insight through inquisitive observations and extensive experience and has served as a trusted advisor helping transform both national and local businesses into more profitable and sustainable businesses. Developing national and international educational programs that create change in culture, community and company provides Sid venues with a front row seat creating effective and innovative business models.
Sid is a Certified Value Builder System Advisor, and currently serves as Chief Strategist and the Swiss Army Knife of Consultants to The Garden Center Group clients. Contact Sid at [email protected] or call or text 937-302-0423.
REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Sid Raisch, Tim Quebedeaux, Jean Seawright, John Kennedy, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!
