Ivory Tower Marketing

In the hussle and bustle of trying to close out a quarter, I've been distracted from my posting. I know, terrible excuse, but it is what it is (check back next month for the lastest excuse for not posting...)

Anyway, something that one of my specialists mentioned the other day really kind of piqued my attention. We were talking about our factory and he said "It's like they try to market from an ivory tower." I wonder how many other businesses fall into this trap.

As marketers, we have to remember who we are marketing to. If we stay inside, behind a desk and computer, and rely on a couple market reports to try and understand what is going on, we will struggle to be successful. One of the biggest complaints that I hear is "how do they know without asking?"

Anecdotally we have a person that just started in a new position. He has been there three days and has already commented that the field doesn't know what they are doing or how to sell. I found this to be amazing insight from someone that has never spoken to anyone in the field, let alone a customer.

Ideally, a marketer needs to be out meeting customers, gaining insights, understanding what is wrong and how to fix it. We need to leave the ivory towers that we work in (ok, the carpet lined cubes, but whatever) and interact. Worst case we need to talk to the salespeople, the individuals that have developed relationships with customers.