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- PAIN TO PROFIT$: Work Smarter Not Harder is Wrong, The Best Recession Investment, and Craft vs Artless-ness
PAIN TO PROFIT$: Work Smarter Not Harder is Wrong, The Best Recession Investment, and Craft vs Artless-ness
Plus: The "Revenge Saving" Viral Trend & How to Turn Your Annual Income Into Monthly income.
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Why “Work Smart, Not Hard” Is Wrong (with Mike Rowe)
Here are some key points that Mike Rowe often makes about hard work versus working smarter:
Value of Hard Work: Hard work builds character and provides a sense of accomplishment and purpose. People have lost sight of the value of manual labor and the satisfaction that comes from doing a job well.
Skill and Effort: Working hard and working smart are not mutually exclusive. Skills and intelligence are important, but a strong work ethic should complement them.
Realistic Perspective: The notion that success can be achieved solely through working smarter without putting in the effort-hard work is often a necessary component of achieving goals and success.
Dignity in Work: The idea that all jobs, no matter how dirty or labor-intensive, have dignity and are essential to society.
Misleading Messages: "Work smarter, Not harder" can sometimes mislead people into thinking that hard work is unnecessary or that there is an easy path to success.
PUL$E
The Best Investment During a Recession is MARKETING - 7 Reasons WHY
Marketing during economic downturns can be one of the most significant investments for several reasons, primarily because many competitors tend to cut back on their marketing efforts, providing a unique opportunity to capture market share and strengthen brand presence. That said, staying creative is also vitally important. Stop Trying to Copy, and start being unique.
Here are some key points explaining why marketing during economic downturns can be highly beneficial:
1. Reduced Competition:
Less Noise: As competitors reduce their marketing budgets, there is less noise in the market, making it easier for your brand's message to stand out.
Market Share: With fewer competitors actively marketing, it's easier to capture a larger market share and attract customers who are still spending.
2. Increased Brand Visibility:
Top-of-Mind Awareness: Consistent marketing efforts ensure that your brand remains top-of-mind for consumers. When the economy recovers, these consumers are more likely to turn to brands they remember.
Long-Term Loyalty: Brands that maintain their presence during tough times can build long-term loyalty, as customers appreciate businesses that continue to engage with them despite economic challenges.
3. Better Advertising Rates:
Lower Costs: Advertising rates often drop during economic downturns due to decreased demand. This means you can get more value for your marketing budget.
More Exposure: With reduced costs, you can afford to reach a larger audience or invest in higher-quality advertising channels that were previously out of reach.
4. Opportunity for Innovation:
Creative Marketing: Economic downturns can drive innovation as businesses look for cost-effective and creative ways to engage with customers.
Differentiation: This period can be an opportunity to differentiate your brand through unique campaigns, community engagement, and value-added services.
5. Building Trust and Credibility:
Consumer Confidence: By continuing to market and communicate transparently, you can build trust and credibility with your audience. This is crucial during uncertain times when consumers are looking for reliable brands.
Empathy and Support: Demonstrating empathy and support through your marketing efforts can create a strong emotional connection with your customers, fostering loyalty.
6. Strategic Investments:
Market Research: Economic downturns are a good time to invest in market research to understand changing consumer behaviors and preferences.
Positioning for Recovery: Brands that continue to invest in marketing are better positioned to capitalize on the recovery phase, having maintained their presence and customer relationships.
7. Strengthened Brand Equity:
Consistent Presence: Maintaining a consistent presence helps reinforce brand equity, making your brand stronger and more resilient in the long run.
Reputation Management: Active marketing during tough times allows you to manage your brand's reputation proactively, addressing any potential concerns and showcasing your commitment to your customers.
Case Studies and Examples:
Procter & Gamble: During the Great Depression, P&G increased its advertising budget and launched innovative radio programs, which helped it gain market share and emerge stronger.
Amazon: During the 2008 recession, Amazon continued to invest in new product lines and services, which contributed to its long-term growth and dominance in the market.
Brand Damage
The Craft vs Artlessness
Joe Glover, host of the Marketing Meetup recently sat down with renowned marketer and entrepreneur Seth Godin for a conversation on Marketing, Ethics, and AI.
There is a 3 minute and 41 second portion of the conversation where the two discuss craft vs artlessness in our work and it just might be the tap on the shoulder we all need this morning.
Joe Glover:
And I couldn't help but go back to a Tim Ferriss episode from 2019, where he was asking you about coffee beans and honey vodka.
And you sort of being involved in the craft of these things. And he also looped in themes about audio equipment and how your answer sort of spoke about the craftsmanship of these things and sort of the joy and the beauty of being in them.
Now, the marketing meetup is a community for marketers. So I can't help but sort of take this into our realm. And I'm curious, like, how romantic do you get about the craft of marketing?
You know, is it quite a functional sort of task? Or do you sort of get not weepy-eyed at the idea of certain adverts? But how do you emotionally respond to the thing that we do?
Seth Godin:
What a great place to begin. So to catch people up who weren't there five years ago. Craft for me, isn't the idea that, you know, it's a misshapen piece of pottery, but a person made it so it's better.
Craft is deciding to acquire the skill to demonstrate empathy, to produce something that's better than you could have gotten away with. And I love craft in all its forms. What I said to Tim is I don't drink coffee, but I do enjoy the craft of finding the beans, roasting the beans, grinding the beans, serving the beans, watching if it resonates with somebody.
And I have two responses when I see different levels of craft in the world. The first one, the one you've highlighted, is the one I need to focus more on, which is satisfaction and joy. When I see something in a field that I'm familiar with, like a book cover, that is beautifully crafted, it does light me up.
It makes me feel like better is possible. Because I'm in my 60s lately, it's more of the grouchy get-off-my-lawn when I see artlessness. Because artlessness is the opposite.
So in our field, to pick the most banal tactics to begin with, if I get an email that says, Dear First Name, in all capital letters, I roll my eyes. That when a vice president at JPMorgan Chase sends me a poorly crafted mail-merged spam because he heard Tim Ferriss mention my name, I should just hit delete. But I can't help myself.
So I'll write back and explain, he probably jumped on the wrong guy on the wrong day. Maybe he wants to read one of my books. Because he is wasting his time and mine.
He is undermining the craft. And so part of, you know, I invented email marketing a very long time ago. And part of my mission has been to remind marketers that it's not a hack and erase the bottom.
That eventually, it's all going to go to spam and we're going to build better filters. But until that happens, there's a chance to raise the bar, not lower it. And so that's a motivation for a lot of the writing that I do.
The work I do is to encourage people to see craft as an opportunity. And for me personally, I just, you know, if I go to a new kind of retail establishment or watch a non-profit raise money in a different way, I feel like humanity still has some legs in it.
Joe Glover:
I love that.
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