Marketing is not a savior. In the recent past, I’ve worked with organizations whose only message was that “marketing would solve all of the ills that the company was facing.” Then I looked deeper.

More often than not, marketing is used as a scapegoat. When I recently asked what my client needed to increase revenue, they answered “better and more marketing.” When I asked specifically what that meant, their answers had nothing to do with marketing. “Better service.” “Broader product offerings.” “ The right pricing.” “ A better economy.”

Marketing can only tell a story and it can only be successful in that telling if the story is authentic.