Insights from a 30-Year Marketing Journey: Embracing Change and Innovation

I remember walking into my supervisor’s office, feeling my world was tumbling down. With no regard for who might overhear, I said “Everything is so heavy on my shoulders!”. My boss, a man now in his 80’s whose spirit is as youthful as someone half his age, and whose wisdom is as vast as his wealth, said to me “I feel that way sometimes.” Instantly, I felt better, and that lesson stayed with me ever since, guiding my interactions with friends and employees who have similar struggles.

Marketing can be difficult. With its ever-changing landscape, there’s an endless information to absorb. It’s impossible for marketing professionals to know everything or keep pace with every trend. Unlike some other industries, the day simply doesn’t have enough hours to master the latest in SEO, advertising, social media, and more.

This highlights the essential role of new technologies like AI that do the heavy lifting. Mastering AI skills is important from university through every stage of a career.

My journey follows a somewhat conventional path, except for the fact that I launched my first agency at the age of 25, managing million-dollar accounts with no prior experience or support.

I often find myself challenged by youth as years of experience bring wisdom and foresight that are invaluable. I’m concerned about the changing landscape of marketing. Being only a social media micro influencer doesn’t make you able to write a marketing strategy or executing lead generation campaigns. However, many firms are sold this story, and are left with wasted budgets and disillusioned with marketing profession.

Starting the Journey: The Analog Era

My first step into the advertising world predates the digital era. In those early days, typewriters were my tools to write scripts and ad copy. My boss’s zero-tolerance policy for errors demanded precision and left little room for mistakes. This hands-on experience instilled me with attention to detail that would later set me apart when I start my own business. As my company got bigger, it became more challenging to maintain the same level of attention to detail as you must rely on others who did not grow up with the same standards.

The Digital Resistance

Five years later, the digital age began with the arrival of email and the internet. Even I was a marketing manager in the tech sector, I initially hesitated to embrace these new tools. This reluctance mirrored a broader skepticism which was prevalent in the industry at the time. However, it took not too long for the undeniable potential of digital communication to become evident, leading to a significant shift in my marketing strategy.

Entrepreneurial Leap: No Rule Book

At the age of 25, armed with only determination and a vision, I ventured my own marketing agency. Without a rule book or prior business experience, I found everyday new challenges and opportunities to learn. Apart from creating marketing strategies, I gained insights in team management, financial balancing, and the challenges of entrepreneurship – all while embracing my identity as a young woman at the quarter of a century mark.

While the journey was exciting, I initially hesitated to take the title of “entrepreneur and preferred to identify solely as a marketer. I viewed an entrepreneur as a salesperson, and it took me nearly a decade to appreciate that and accept the fact that we are all salespeople in one way or another. Without sales, no business exists.

A Second Attempt: Adaptation in Action

Launching my second business venture at the age of 30 came with a slightly refined approach, but I was still far from having all the answers. This venture coincided with the coming of social media platforms like Facebook, which I initially underestimated as a passing trend. This miscalculation served as a harsh reminder of the importance of staying ahead of industry developments, as I saw my agency struggle to keep pace.

The journey to success with my second business, Marketing Eye, was not without challenges. There were several reasons for its slow start. Firstly, by this stage in my career, I had grown accustomed to a certain level of comfort and protection, thanks to my age and network. Growing up in Charters Towers has shaped my identity and provided me with a unique perspective that set me apart from being solely defined by schools I attended. That was the common categorization for many people in life and businesses. I was grateful for this, as big cities can be harsh and by this stage of my career, I’ve started my business from the Gold Coast, expanding to Sydney and then Melbourne.

Navigating Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword

Becoming an early adopter of Twitter taught me that cultivating a successful online community needed more than just mere presence. It demanded active engagement, consistency, and a deep understanding of the platform’s intricacies. However, this

digital path was not without its challenges. As security oversight resulted in a former employee deleting a significant portion of my Instagram following – a stark reminder of how vulnerable the digital platforms are. Thankfully, my ego wasn’t associated with how many followers I had, and I brushed off the incident. However, it affected the number of office freebies I received each day as an influencer, even before the term gained prominence.

The Drive for Success: A Daily Dedication

My passion for marketing has always been driven by a relentless pursuit of success. This has motivated me to monitor our social media, website, and blog traffic every day, ensuring we not only join this digital world but also lead it. It’s a testament to understanding that in marketing, there are no breaks.

My most significant success from sales and follower growth came when I immersed myself in the data daily. This habit fueled my competitive spirit, beating competitors across all front – a success I effortlessly achieved at that time. In fact, at one point, a Google search for “marketing” would display Marketing Eye as the top result.

Knowing your daily marketing tasks is necessary to outperform your competitors. With these insights, I leverage them to develop innovation technologies.

Recognizing Our Limits: Enhancing Our Strengths

A pivotal realization in my career has been the acknowledgement that marketers can’t excel in everything. This lesson learned led to the creation of Robotic Marketer, a tool to enhance productivity and compensate individual weaknesses. Crafting a robust marketing strategy is often time-consuming. Robotic Marketer is developed to streamline the process, ensuring comprehensive and timely strategies.

For instance, I’m expert in writing when I’m in the zone, but struggle with consistent follow-through unless something is going wrong. I only work harder and faster when I have fear. As a perfectionist, I constantly strive for 100% perfection, yet this often hinders my potential for greater success. That’s when I learned achieving 80% is sufficient.

Pioneering AI: Overcoming Doubt

Starting on the AI journey with Robotic Marketer posed immense challenges. Initial skepticism cast a shadow over our efforts, requiring relentless perseverance to convince clients and investors of AI’s potential in marketing. However, the advent of technologies like ChatGPT has shifted the tide and the use of AI in marketing is widely accepted. Robotic Marketer addresses skill gaps within my team and offers invaluable time-saving benefits. Recognizing the need to scale marketing efforts with limited resources, I believe in the technology’s capacity to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and the predictive analysis capabilities.

Five Essential Lessons

1. Embrace the Change: It’s natural for marketers to be skeptical to new trends but ignoring them can be risky. Even when they seem fleeting, investing in emerging platforms and trends, is essential.
2. Your Website is Your Foundation: A dynamic website isn’t just built. It’s nurtured over time to reflect your business’s growth and adapt to market changes.
3. Continual SEO Efforts: SEO isn’t a one-and-done task. It requires ongoing attention and updates to stay relevant in changing algorithms and competition.
4. Value Internal Relationship: Your team’s motivation and understanding of their role in client satisfaction are essential. Remember that internal team is everyone in your organization’s first client.
5. Strategy is Key: You’re unlikely to achieve success without a clear strategy. A well-defined strategy provides clarity and measurable path toward achieving your goals

Experience Brings Advantage

Looking back to my journey, I realize how every mistake, triumph, and seemingly minor choice have influenced my path in a way I have never expected. In the dynamic world of marketing, we should not stand still. The excitement of the challenge to navigate in this ever-evolving landscape continues to drive me forward. Here’s to another 3 decades of innovation, adaptation, and relentless pursuit of marketing excellence – though I suspect I may hand over the baton long before then.