Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

As a follow-on to my July Tips & Traps - Real-World Marketing, Goals Before Budget. Here’s Kotler on Kotler in a recent interview, Advertising vs. PR.

Here’s part of what he says about marketing and budgeting:

Question: Do you see companies as setting their communication budgets optimally?

Kotler: Marketers develop a certain mindset concerning the most effective communication mix. They will continue the same mix even when evidence shows diminishing effectiveness. Allocations become frozen, and the chief marketing officer is loath to change the allocation.

All too often, we humans get in a rut - doing things because they’re habit, even when we know they’re not working. Fear of change, corporate politics, and just plain ol’ laziness can be major impediments to creativity and results.