“What Is Marketing, Really? (And Why You Shouldn’t Be Doing It Alone)”
People often ask: What is marketing? Is it billboards, commercials, flyers, Facebook ads, social media posts, or email blasts?
The short answer is: it’s all of the above—but only if they’re aligned with a clear message and strategy.
Marketing isn’t just a task or a to-do list. It’s the blueprint, the roadmap that outlines how every action—big or small—works in harmony to communicate something specific to your audience. And if that message doesn’t speak to the customer’s real need, or help them recognize a need they didn’t even know they had, then none of the above matters.
Why Most Business Owners Get Marketing Wrong
Too many business owners see marketing as something that should produce instant results. When it doesn’t, they get discouraged or worse, they give up. But think of it like this:
You need a car to get to work, right? But do you go out and build one from scratch? Do you become your own mechanic, or try to learn how to sell cars to afford one? No—you invest in the car that gets you where you need to go.
Marketing is your vehicle to growth, and without a working vehicle, your business is stuck in the same place.
The truth is, marketing isn’t optional—it’s foundational. The businesses you hear about, the ones everyone recognizes, the ones that seem to blow up overnight? That’s not luck. That’s marketing done right.
The Problem With DIY Marketing
In an effort to save money, many small business owners try to “do it all themselves.” And while tools like Canva, Facebook Ads Manager, and Mailchimp make execution easier, what’s often missing is a strategy—a message, a sequence, a system. This leads to disjointed efforts, wasted time, and zero return.
You don’t need to become a marketer. You need to work with someone who understands how to bring your brand to life and get it in front of the right people.
That’s why businesses who succeed either have a dedicated in-house team or hire a consultant who can build the roadmap and help them drive.
