Being a “noob” at anything is no fun. 
Having fun being a “noob” is an art.
Marketing is “noob” territory for me, and the immediate lessons it’s taught me are humility and going back to the basics.
OMG! there are so many books, scams, blogs, ideas, frauds, shysters, lecturers, and experts on marketing it’s a wonder there’s anybody left to work in tire shops!
Seth Godin, my favorite blogger, mentioned this in a blog just the other day:
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“The taxonomy of marketing (filled with a bazillion tactics) is murky at
best. The tactics are so numerous, expensive and sometimes emotional
that we easily focus on the urgent instead of the important.“
How true!
I’m short of a bazillion…but I’ve invested heavily in quite a few resources in this area lately, and I’ve blogged before about how they all begin to have a cheerleader-ish sameness to them.
Not to say there’s not something of value…just that you have to consciously catch yourself glossing over to get back to the focus.
My ignorance in this field is slowly giving way to some understanding — and it’s akin to osmosis.
Going back to college biology: osmosis is a physical process in which a solvent moves, without input of
energy, across a semi-permeable membrane (permeable to the solvent, but
not the solute) separating two solutions of different concentrations (OK, with a little help from Wikipedia).
My brain is the low concentration. The knowledge-base of Marketing is the high concentration.
Now – I’ve found it neurologically impossible to actually FINISH a marketing book…but having read through numerous marketing resources about half-way…osmosis is beginning to seep certain concepts across the membrane of my thick skull to the noob’s brain inside, and while no lightbulbs have been going off, I think SOME of this stuff is actually starting to awake something within me… a certain understanding that comes with connecting dots.
This is where the humility comes in. A noob is a child-like ignorance that naturally prompts simple-minded questions that may seem elementary to the advanced, but helps to structure building blocks to understanding. I’ve been asking a lot of questions…not always out-loud, but deliberately seeking honest answers to simple questions. And observing a lot!
The early returns: Marketing is a combination of initiative, opportunity, a little chutzpah, and some awareness of relationships to build a better concept of who you are to your potential client. It’s how well you tell your story, whether your commited to excellence in your product, trust, being aware that every interaction is an opportunity.
See? I’m starting to sound like THEM. (crap!)
There’s a point where the athlete, the pilot, the seamstress, and the voice actor stops having to deliberately think about all the individual components that go into making their effort appear practiced, coordinated, and smooth. The ability just….. is.
Thanks to osmosis, my marketing awareness is moving beyond “noob” to…. just…. “is”.
CourVO
