We live in an age of hype, where exaggeration and extreme claims get you noticed.  And marketing is, unfortunately, one of the major culprits.  Everyday I am invited to learn the next guaranteed way to make millions on the internet, how to attract more customers than you'll know what to do with, or why some new idea or technique will change my life.  And I meet many people who set themselves up to sell expertise that, scratch the surface, they don't really have.  Does owning a camera make you a photographer?  Does being able to hold a pen make you a writer?  Does advertising make you a marketer?  Those peddling Snake Oil make a convincing case.

Despite the impression you might get, marketing is not a set of mystical spells to cast over your customer base. Generally the concepts are based in common sense but require insight and experience of customer behaviour and emotions to make them work.  The reason I am dwelling on this subject is that I am preparing for the CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) Simply Better Marketing seminar this week.  We're running sessions with Business Link and Christchurch University to help Small Businesses get better at marketing, and we're using Chartered Marketers to deliver the presentations and follow-up with attendees.  And in the course of doing this we aim to get greater recognition for this little known professional qualification and the confidence it gives that we know what we are talking about!

Choosing a marketing supplier to trust, or even how to select marketing staff, can be a minefield - particularly given the tendency to outrageous claims as above!  But it is not all Snake Oil!  You need to look for depth and breadth of real experience as well as appropriate qualifications.  Chartered Marketers have not only to prove they have the background knowledge in marketing in order to receive the award, but they have to maintain it through continuous professional development (35 hours annually).  

We seem, as a society, to be continually de-valuing the concept of hard work.  I certainly notice it with my own children who berate me for working too hard!  The idea that you need to learn how to do something and then gain practical experience, and true expertise, by applying it over time is laughed at.  But in truth nothing is that easy.  Despite the hype, we all know there are few overnight successes or ways to get rich without breaking sweat.  Or we'd all be millionaires by now!

My advice is cultivate a healthy scepticism and look beyond the headlines to look for evidence to back up the claims.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

* From Wikipedia: Snake Oil is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain.  However the most common usage of the phrase is as a derogatory term for compounds offered as medicines which implies they are fake or ineffective.  The expression is also applied metaphorically to any product with exaggerated marketing, but questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit.