Concerts, Ticket Prices, and Keeping Music for the People

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I have been going to punk rock and metal shows for decades, and some of the best shows I have ever seen cost less than $50.

I have seen bands like Fear, Suicidal Tendencies, Gwar, Napalm Death, Billy Idol, The Misfits, and plenty of others without having to empty my bank account. Those shows were loud, sweaty, chaotic, imperfect, and unforgettable. They were everything live music is supposed to be.

I have also paid hundreds of dollars to see huge bands in huge venues. I have no problem admitting that. I have spent the money to see bands like Iron Maiden, and I understand that big productions cost money. There are lights, sound crews, trucks, stagehands, insurance, travel, and a whole machine behind those shows.

But what I cannot understand is spending thousands of dollars to see a band that has been playing for decades and, in some cases, sounds worse than they ever have. I also cannot understand paying hundreds of dollars to see a band at the same venue where they played just a few years ago for a fraction of the price.

At some point, it stops feeling like music and starts feeling like a luxury product.

I love music. I love making music. I love playing music. I love dancing at shows, getting pushed around in the crowd, hearing a band give everything they have, and walking out with my ears ringing and my shirt soaked. That is the experience I am chasing.

And somehow, I can still find that experience at a $5 basement show or a $25 bar show. Sometimes those shows are better than the massive arena concerts. There is no giant screen, no corporate sponsor, no VIP package, and no $75 hoodie. Just a band, a crowd, a small room, and a shared energy that feels real.

That is where music still feels alive.

Younger bands and local artists are out there right now playing with hunger, creativity, and urgency. They are not coasting on nostalgia. They are not charging people half a paycheck to stand 300 feet away. They are building something from the ground up, the same way so many of our favorite bands once did.

I know there are artists who have pushed back against the rising cost of tickets. The Cure, for example, has taken an active role in trying to keep ticket prices more affordable for fans. That matters. It shows that bands are not powerless. Artists, venues, promoters, and fans all have some responsibility in deciding what kind of music culture we want to support.

For me, I am making a choice.

I am going to support more local venues. I am going to support new artists. I am going to seek out affordable shows. I am going to spend my money where it helps keep music accessible, not where it helps turn art into another playground for the wealthy.

Because art should not be only for the elite.

So much of the music I love came from working-class struggle, frustration, boredom, anger, rebellion, and the need to be heard. Punk rock, metal, hardcore, hip-hop, blues, folk — so much of it came from people fighting to create something meaningful from the pressure of real life.

That is what makes music emotional. That is what makes it powerful. It comes from defying the odds, not from pricing out the audience.

Live music should bring people together. It should not separate people by who can afford a platinum ticket, a VIP entrance, or a resale price that looks like a car payment.

I am not saying every show has to be cheap. I understand that musicians deserve to get paid. Crews deserve to get paid. Venues need to survive. But there is a difference between fair pricing and greed. There is a difference between making a living and squeezing every last dollar out of fans who helped build the culture in the first place.

For me, the future of live music is not in the most expensive seat in the biggest arena.

It is in the small club.
The dive bar.
The community space.
The backyard.
The basement.
The room where a young band is playing like their life depends on it.

That is where I want to be.

And that is where I want my money to go.

Taxes come due

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From Filing My First W-2 by Hand to Hiring an Accountant

It was 1999 when I got my first W-2 from my employer. It showed up sometime around the beginning of March. It wasn’t much money, but it was enough that I needed to file taxes.

This was before being a teenager meant you had access to TurboTax on your phone or laptop. I didn’t make enough money to go pay someone at H&R Block, so I turned to my dad. He wasn’t always great with that kind of paperwork, but he was great at math. He taught me how to fill out the long-form tax return by hand. Most of it didn’t really apply to me since I was a kid living at home, but it taught me something I carried with me for years.

For the next 20 years, I did my taxes myself.

Over time, things changed. I started using QuickBooks for my business bookkeeping. Later, I used TurboTax for a few years. Eventually, I took on doing my own bookkeeping as a small business owner. When I launched my LLC, I handled the taxes myself the first year too.

That experience taught me something important: just because you can do something yourself doesn’t always mean it’s the best use of your time.

This year, I’m using an accountant for the first time, and so far, it’s been great. I still handle my bookkeeping, organize my records, and submit the documentation they need. But they take care of the filing. And honestly, there’s a real peace of mind that comes with having someone who knows the tax code far better than I do making sure everything is done right.

I don’t necessarily love taxes, but I do understand their purpose. I also understand the opportunities that come with being a business owner. The trade-offs are real, both positive and negative. When you work for yourself, if you don’t work, you don’t make money. There’s no sick time unless you’ve built your business in a way that can keep generating income without you. If you stop producing, the business often feels it immediately.

That’s why part of being a business owner is engineering your life and your systems in a way that helps your business grow. Sometimes that means doing things yourself. Other times, it means spending money on the right expert so you can focus your energy where it matters most.

For me, hiring an accountant has already felt like one of those worthwhile decisions. Getting my taxes filed correctly and reducing the stress around it is well worth the cost.

Best of luck this tax season. After all, the old saying still holds true: the only certain things in life are death and taxes.

The Importance of Trying New Things and Failing Along the Way

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Starting a business is one of the most exciting, intimidating, and humbling experiences you can have. As an entrepreneur, I’m constantly torn between two roles: being a business owner and being a worker. Both are demanding in their own ways, but entrepreneurship has taught me lessons that go beyond day-to-day tasks.

The biggest lesson? Effort doesn’t equal success.

That can feel discouraging at first, but it’s also freeing once you accept it. You can put in countless hours, grind day and night, and still fall short. On the flip side, sometimes the right opportunity arrives at the right time, and things fall into place more easily than expected. That’s why luck is such a big factor in business—though, of course, luck favors those who are prepared.

Networking plays just as big of a role. You never know where opportunities will come from, so you need to be willing to put yourself out there. Advocate for yourself and your business. Talk about what you do, share your vision, and don’t be afraid to connect. That being said, selling to friends and family should only happen if you genuinely believe your product or service will benefit them. Otherwise, you risk making things awkward, and no business gain is worth losing trust or straining relationships.

Another reality is that not everyone will want to see you succeed. Some people may even act like they don’t. And that’s okay. Not every relationship is meant to become a business relationship. If blending the two puts a personal connection at risk, it’s often better to walk away and preserve the friendship.

At the heart of entrepreneurship is trying new things, failing, and learning. You learn from your own failures and from the failures of others. Every misstep teaches you something valuable—what not to do, where to pivot, how to improve.

So if you’re considering entrepreneurship, here’s what I’d say:

  • Don’t expect effort alone to guarantee results.
  • Welcome luck and networking as powerful tools.
  • Advocate for yourself and your business.
  • Protect your personal relationships.
  • And above all, take risks and  keep learning—especially when things don’t go as planned.

The journey isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about building a business; it’s about building yourself through experiences, challenges, and growth.

#business #enterpreneurship

Being a Father to Daughters

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I’m often asked the same question: “So, are you going to try for a boy?”

The truth is, I don’t think about parenting in terms of being a “girl dad” or a “boy dad.” I just think about what it takes to be a good parent—and that requires sacrifice, consistency, and a whole lot of love.

Parenting isn’t about living the life you want untouched—it’s about reshaping your life around the needs of your kids. For me, that means late nights reviewing homework, rearranging my schedule to be present at their games, or skipping activities that childless adults get to enjoy without thought.

It also means joining them in their world. I dig in the dirt if that’s what they’re into. We play dress-up. We have dance parties in the living room. We volunteer in our neighborhood together. I follow their lead because I want them to know their interests matter, that their joy matters.

Of course, there are experiences my daughters will have that I will never fully understand—I’m not a woman. But that doesn’t mean I can’t walk alongside them with openness, empathy, and unconditional love.

Activists are a big part of their lives too. I encourage them to play sports and Martial Arts not just for exercise, but because sports teach lessons that go beyond the field—teamwork, resilience, and the connection between hard work and results.  Being comfortable with the uncomfortable transcends boy/girl. Those are lessons I want them to carry into every corner of their lives.

At the core of it all, my goal is simple: to give my daughters a better foundation than I had. A better education. A stronger sense of belonging. A confidence that no matter what path they choose, they are loved and supported.

So, do I wish I had a son? No. What I have is four daughters, each with her own personality, dreams, and rebellious attitude at times and that’s more than enough.

I also try to be the partner I wish I had growing up. My daughters are watching me all the time—not just in how I show up for them, but in how I show up for their mom, for our family, and even for our community.

They’re learning what respect looks like, how to treat others with kindness, and what it means to share responsibilities at home. If I want them to one day expect healthy relationships in their own lives, then I need to live that example in mine.

Parenting isn’t perfect. I stumble, I get tired, I lose my patience sometimes. But I keep showing up. Because I know that in the end, they won’t remember whether they won every Judo match I made them compete in. They’ll remember if I was present. If I loved them openly. If I made them feel safe, seen, and supported.

Why do we do less

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I recently had in a profound conversation with my 10 year old children . They posed a question that is deceptively simple yet intricately complex: “Why is America, good with people living without a home?”

Through the course of our dialogue, we arrived at a troubling realization – the world produces enough food to nourish every individual and the means to provide shelter are not beyond reach. This led us to ponder more deeply: Where lies the outrage that could provoke change and drive solutions to these solvable issues? To unravel this puzzle, we must consider the all the factors at play. America, while prosperous, operates within a system of competing interests and variable political will. (My words not the kids)There are abundant resources, yes, but their allocation often falls prey to bureaucracy, mismanagement, or priorities that overlook the most vulnerable. The intricacies of economic structures can dilute the sense of immediacy to act – with affluence in one area blinding the eyes of many to scarcity in another. The staggering gap between wealth and poverty continues to expand, and often, those in comfortable positions lack a firsthand understanding of the struggles faced by those without homes or adequate food. 

 Additionally, the issue of homelessness and food insecurity is not merely a matter of resource availability; it also encompasses mental health support, addiction recovery services, employment opportunities, and affordable housing policy. These are complex and interlinked challenges that require comprehensive and cohesive strategies, often impeded by partisan politics or a lack of sustained public pressure to create change. But the question that grips our conscience is not rooted in the intricacies of economics or the mire of politics; it is a fundamentally moral one.

 Why have we, as a society, not demanded more from ourselves and our leaders? The answer is disquieting and prompts a reflection on our collective ethos. Have we become desensitized to despair and inequity, or have we simply lost faith in our ability to impact change? There is hope, however. Outrage can be a catalyst for transformation when channeled effectively. History has shown us that it is through compassionate action, relentless advocacy, and an unyielding commitment to justice that we can begin dismantling the barriers to a better world for all. As I looked into the questioning eyes of my children, I realized the significance of our discussion. It is incumbent upon us to nurture a future generation that not only asks the hard questions but is also equipped and emboldened to seek the tough solutions. The path to a world where no one goes hungry or without a home is arduous, but if we are to make the world a better place, it is a journey we must undertake with determination and collective resolve.

California Cannabis Market insight

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I kept seeing negative posts and opinions about marketing and sales in the cannabis industry that seem overly critical and lacking in insight. Here, I am going to shed some light on the California market and provide advice on how brands can overcome some of the current challenges.

Weed is a consumable product so packaging and branding are an important part of creating a competitive advantage across the entire business.

  1. Packaging should be convenient for dispensaries to intake. Look at the competition and ask what is preferred in the market.
  2. Pricing should be in line with the product quality as well as the COGs. If the price is determined reactively to undercut competitors, losses will result in perceived value and also limit the business’s ability to invest in staff and process improvements.
  3. Charging shelving fees prevent brands and dispensaries from marketing to new customers.
  4. Brand Equity takes years to develop. Messaging is the key to branding and creating a relationship with the customers.
  5. You can’t be all things to all people.

If you are interested in learning about concepts that can help stabilize the market, stay tuned; the only request is to take these ideas and apply them.

1: Brand

2: Retail

3: Marketing

4: Relationships

5: Sales

Brand, 

What does it take to be a successful cannabis brand?

There are several different answers to this question – price, differentiation, innovation, and customer base.

  1. Price: Low-cost leaders have been pushing prices down. 
    1. Indoor flower: Automation, technology investment, and a strong supply chain network can contribute to a competitive advantage. 
    2. Outdoor Flower: Automation and a strong distribution network can contribute to a  competitive advantage.

The key to winning on price is scale and automation. The more you can automate and remove variance in production at scale, the more competitive you can be on prices.

  1. A differentiation strategy is the approach businesses use to attract and keep customers by giving them a unique product or service.
    1. What Features do your product offer that your competitors don’t?  Ex: Clean green, freshness guarantee, live soil, charitable and socially conscious products, collaborations. What action is the company taking to be different in the work they do?
  2. Innovation: First to market. This is the true top dollar branding model – exclusive strains, rare genetics, small-batch purchases that are socially shareable experiences.

Branding can be more complicated if you really want to drive down into your customer profile and build out a long-term growth strategy for your marketing funnel.  But, if you have a brand and you want it to last, you have to choose how you want to compete.

Retail (Dispensaries)

California has a serious retail channel problem. There is too much legal product and not enough dispensaries, and all the stores have the same brands and the same strains.

Message to retailers: shelving/slotting fees are not good for business. These fees drive up prices and in turn, drive down sales.

If there is an issue with retailers having enough revenue to operate, retailers should work with the brands for marketing dollars.

Brands need to spend money on marketing and IG stories are not going to get the brand nor the store the return on investment.

A  few ideas for Cannabis friendly marketing 

1: Podcast, Vlog, Blog Advertising.

2: Local promotional advertisements, Bench signs and periodicals etc.

3: Co sponsors – Education and outreach, events, and community service.

These can have measurable impacts and having brands willing to work with local dispensaries can build community and create a long-term relationship.

Marketing

Obviously, all standard advertising is marketing, training for how company representatives interact with customers is marketing, text, and images on everything from white paper to web pages and business cards is marketing.

Brand strategy, customer rating of competitors and key success factors, points of parity, and points of differentiation. Brand mantra, brand equity strategy, vision, Mission, operationalization quality and trend-selling in product quality and style.

Brands and Dispensaries alike should be communicating their value propositions consistently and frequently. 

Sales

As more and more flower is on the market, there is an unprecedented need to sell the flower. Obviously, this is a moment in time, but with an abundance of brands, we need to determine how they can develop and grow in the current market conditions.

Looking at every micro license, distro, and cultivation which translates to the potential of thousands of brands throughout the state.

There are many different ways to supply a brand with a product, and I am not going to dive into supply chains and white labeling.

There are a lot of ways to build and track inventory, which is absolutely critical to have accurate information for sales to meet market needs.

Now to the top of sales. There is a shift from independent contractors to on-staff sales teams to freelance salespeople. The freelance sales strategy has not proven to be good for brand growth and development, as freelance salespeople are not invested in the relationship with the product but in their own relationship with the dispensary. This dynamic creates a broker relationship with the dispensary, instead of a team member relationship, which adds a layer of unnecessary cost to the product. There are also a lot of freelance salespeople that I have seen get burned by dispensaries not paying and by brands shorting them on the compensation. 

As the market grows, so will the consolidation of retailers, which will limit the freelance sales (brokers) ability to keep up with the changing market.

On staff sales teams can support business development and build brand identity while bringing resources and expertise to the business. 

A few issues that are unfortunately common in the cannabis space that have an impact on sales, price, and reputation.

1: Brands that don’t have experience managing a suite of products and carrying too much inventory wind up losing cash flow from operations. 

  • This can happen from over purchasing raw materials without forecasting how much the market can take and what sales needs are.
  • Lack of processes. The amount of time I have seen bulk flower come through and was rushed to meet a cultivation schedule resulting in less than desirable product is often enough to see a trend in the lack of contingency planning.

2. Retailers that over order and cannot move the product in time for the customer to have fresh flower. 

  • Again this is a lack of forecasting and understanding what is needed in a period of time to service the customer base.

3 This is the biggest issue for sales. There are no clear goals that are based on quantitative and qualitative metrics.

  •  Setting a sales goal should not be an emotional goal such as we need to be in X number of stores or we need $X in sales when that is not linked to an amount of product available or actual reach of the distribution network. 

Brands need to train the sales staff to sell the product that is actually available and not just the brand. If they sell the brand and the product doesn’t align with the messaging, the dispensary will be misinformed and the customer will be disappointed, resulting in a negative experience.

Sell what you have not what you wish you had.

Pay your people and let them try to succeed.

The link between Brands, Retail, Marketing, and Sales is money, plain and simple.

Brands need money to pay for marketing and sales, and retailers need to sell products to pay brands. This is all obvious and on the nose but the marketing budget is the part that I want to dig into.

Where and what should the marketing budget include. Three areas: 

  1. Pre sale marketing: before the dispensary is a customer
  • Funding deals: Gift Card (coffee & tea), swag shirts, hats, pins, lanyards, pens, ligheters ect. 
  • Shared Marketing resources
  • Product samples

2.Closing the sale

  • Staff Samples
  • Instore activations: PAD, Budtender educations, internal contests
  • Bogo, Calendared Discounts

3. Continued relationship

  • Community events
  • Shared Marketing resources

Along with all of these concepts and ideas, I purposely did not name any brands, dispensaries, or individuals that are currently using any of these tools to their benefit. You can see through social media who is doing what well and who is missing out.

It’s disappointing that there are people reporting each other to the DCR and flagging social posts when they are part of the same community. If we spent less time complaining about the things we don’t like about our competitors and focused on being proactive and spotlighting all the success we see, we can start to show our strength and progress forward together. 

Everything can be better!

Pockets of Productivity and body language.

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If you have taken the time to read the “about” section of this blog you will see that there are five topics that I think about the most.  Of course, these are not the only topics that I am interested in, they are just the ones that I feel the most comfortable discussing. Now that statement is made please read on for some words of wisdom, that has made me more productive and had a positive impact on how I interact with the world around me

Words of wisdom from business to everyday life.

I want to share some life experiences, as well as some topics I am passionate about but don’t  feel compelled to dedicate an entire blog post to at this time.  The first is a quote: “Never stand around with your hands in your pockets.”  While this may or may not seem like obviously good advice. It is extremely important in life for several reasons.  Standing around with your hands in your pockets makes you a target.  When you are standing with your hands in your pockets it is highly likely that either you are doing nothing, or very little.  In my own business as well as most companies I have worked with, the person in that stagnant state was given the worst, boring, least rewarding tasks first, such as filing backdated documents, faxing dozens of forms to vendors, scan docs, wrapping cable, digging trenches, and soaping wires. Those tasks cover advertising, manufacturing, stage hand, and construction work to illustrate the breadth of industries where standing around with your hands in your pockets is a negative activity in business. A few other instances where negative activity produced negative results.

Be aware of your surroundings.

Throughout the 90’s I spent nearly all of my time between the Beaches of New Jersey, The Lower East Side (LES) in Manhattan, Bay Ridge Brooklyn, and Jackson Heights Queens. The reason I point out the geographical areas is that they are very diverse in comparison to each other.  Although it is easy to identify the differences from each place, they all had the same outlook:  if you look like a victim you will become a victim.  While the interactions for which a person may be confronted with will most likely differ, such as getting mugged, sucker punched, scammed by various street hustlers, harassed by drunks, junkies, and wackadoos, random search by New York’s finest; nonetheless, they are all situations that generally that should be avoided, but standing around with your hands in your pockets is like wearing a sign that says “victim here”.

Respect and trust.

As a Father, standing around with your hands in your pockets makes it hard to command respect and be taken seriously as an authority figure.   Any time my father would have his hand in his pockets while parenting he was red faced and screaming, which is probably the only way to get someone to realize how serious you are.

Fashion and practicality

Pocket advocate: I am a total pocket advocate.   I dislike pants and jackets that don’t have pockets, as a parent and without a care for social acceptance, I love cargo shorts due to the ample pocket space, and in cold weather, I am totally comfortable with walking with my hands in the cozy pockets of a hoodie or jacket.  Now that I think it is clear there is a time and a place to make yourself vulnerable.   Hopefully, this insight helps you seem more productive and be a little safer navigating the world.

When your business needs a bigger boat…

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We’re gonna need a bigger boat…

In 2017, businesses still manage to suffer from the same problems they have been facing for decades; focusing their efforts on increasing sales while seemingly ignoring the procedures and operations in the process.  The fact that history’s mistakes continue to repeat themselves without many positive signs of improvement on the horizon leads one to believe that the core issue is a lack of capacity, meaning businesses will need to build bigger boats to accommodate all of their growing needs in a sufficient and sustainable manner.   

A business can be like a sinking ship with expenses, culture, and a whole bunch of other issues, weighing down revenue growth.  Yes, some businesses seem unstoppable, which is more likely a stroke of good luck that somehow enable those lucky businesses to excel in spite of that firm’s negligent inclination to ignore and still survive internal issues rather than addressing them.

However, adjustments to the structural size of a firm alone will not be the sole solution to all of a firm’s issues.  While a bigger boat (more resources) can make a project seem less challenging, it does not guarantee success.  Just like having the ability to generate sales is fantastic, believing you can sell your way out of a problem is not a long term solution.   Having an understanding of the internal operations and how the firm’s money is being spent is also a critically important factor, as well.

The business activities that work as a bail-out for the sinking ship generate profits, while operations keep the boat afloat it’s culture and marketing that move the ship along.  The reason I am trying culture into this is while marketing is, of course, a common core competency of every organization,  culture is also often disregarded as an expense that does not offer an immediate measurable impact on revenue performance.  If the cost to acquire a new customer (Customer Acquisition Cost(CAC) =(Total sales + marketing cost)/ # of new customers added per month) exceeded revenue, then the approach that may have the largest financial impact may have to do with culture, while the cost of a sale has a cost for marketing anytime there is a change that affects how employees operate there is a threat from outside influences. It is important to be agile and make changes that support the business and focus on repairing the leak instead of focusing on buying a bigger bucket.

Learning to do more with less is just as important as learning to do less with less.  Meaning, As a result, businesses possess the ability to drive revenue higher as a percent of cash flow from operations by focusing on process improvement over sales performance improvement.

There are actions to fix the whole instead of

When it comes to cutting costs, there are what is seen as the most common or traditional cost cutting measures with the quickest and most visible impact to the bottom line are employee layoffs, which are often referred to as reductions in staff and restructuring.  laying off employees; While business decisions involving terminations, demotions, and added responsibilities without compensation all provide organizations with the ability to quickly reduce costs and drive profits, this approach is often only viable in the short-term, as staff changes of this nature often result in hurt moral and can decrease the rate of productivity and can compromise quality control much farther than anticipated.  Reducing employee pay is always challenging and usually will drive the top talent and high performing people out first.  Reducing benefit programs can also cause the same impact on the staff as pay reduction.  In addition, changing customer service hours, or altering billing terms with little to no notice to the consumers may drive away profitable customers while producing an undesirable impact on the business’s reputation.  Less common, but often more sustainable, cost-cutting measures look to leverage relationships and local communities to support a business in transition which can help with performance, sales, and reputation.

Strategic alliances for marketing purposes can be leveraged more easily when there is a nonprofit or charitable affiliation.  Collaborating with local schools or social organizations for mentorship or internship programs can provide firms with the opportunity to reduce expenditures (Cost Cutting) with low-cost labor options, elevate customer retention and new client acquisition, and promoting a more positive brand image while cultivating stronger relationships in the community.  

Activities that possess a viable means for increasing the dynamics of a firm’s cash flow from operations include the following:

  • Budgeting constraints for outside sales teams that link expenses to performance. The better a sales member does the more access they have to company reimbursement for non-essential business expenses.
  • Performance-based expense-reimbursement standards create challenges to the firm’s culture and the espoused values. As a result, this approach would require the greatest amount of care and focus on change management implementation to ensure optimal successful results are achieved.  

I have personally witnessed the execution of all of these various strategies increase business performance in different industries at different times.

There are many other types of activities to improve operations, as well as improving access to a highly valued workforce that work as repairing a leak to move the boat better. Feel free to comment with any other uncommon ideas that you have seen work.  

The phrase every executive should avoid

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Marketing is everything you think it is and everything you don’t think it is…

While that is stirring around in your big beautiful melon.  

Obviously, all normal advertising is marketing, training for how company representatives interact with customers is marketing, text, and images on everything from white paper to web pages and business cards is marketing.

For the past 17 yrs, I have seen businesses that over-leveraged themselves to increase marketing expenditures and firms that limit the amount of business cards they give out to keep marketing expense down and everything in between.  Here’s is what I have come to understand. There are three “things” that drive businesses to be successful timing, magnitude, and luck. Timing can be early to market, late to market on right on target. Magnitude not having enough widgets, having too many widgets, or right on target. Luck is the wild card, good luck can make a business succeed regardless of timing & magnitude. Bad luck can crush a business despite all the best efforts, and it(luck) can not be considered at all in any planning. The importance of marketing is directly tied to timing and magnitude. I am not going to lay out the different approaches to campaigns, calendaring, or strategy implementation.  I really just want to share a mindset that should be avoided at all cost by any executive, business owner or division head and that is anyone who utters this are a variation of this phrase;

“We don’t really do marketing here”.

“We don’t really do marketing” is probably one of my most favorite things to hear an executive say.  I have the hardest time not laughing in their face and the more profound they look while spewing the statement the harder it is to maintain composure. Obviously, if that statement made then marketing is being discussed in some manner, and the person making the statement has misunderstood the idea of marketing and how to drive sales. While outbound and inbound advertising is absolutely part of marketing so is the content that is used on websites, business cards, even customer service training is part of marketing. There are Key performance indicators and metrics that impact sales that are also linked to forecasting growth.

Here is a short list of less common practice activities that are part of marketing.

  • Return on Marketing Investment (ROI) = (Sales Growth – Marketing Cost) x 100 / Marketing Investment
  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) (Total sales +marketing cost)/ added customer per month
  • Marketing % of Customer Acquisition Cost (M%-CAC)
  • Success Metrics
  • Channel conflicts
  • Newsletters
  • Landing page
  • Search ads
  • Forms
  • Blogs
  • Social networks
  • Banner ads
  • Vlogs
  • Customer service
  • Logos

Far too often businesses will become so focused on the bottom line that opportunities are missed because “we don’t do marketing”.  In actuality the statement is more likely to be “we don’t understand marketing” or “we don’t do marketing well” there are lots of different recipes to make a nutritious meal but you have to be willing to spend money on the ingredients or know how to cook. Not every business needs a celebrity endorsement or SEO strategy, but they should know who much they are spending on their marketing activity for the simple fact that if you can measure it you can plan for it making timing & magnitude an essential aspect of marketing and business strategy.

Next time you are in a meeting or shooting the breeze, just remember the phrase to avoid. “We don’t do marketing”…