WHEN THE BOSS
SAYS “NO!” TO
NEW MARKETING
I
DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT
I FREQUENTLY get emails and social media inquiries from
people who tell me that they’ve learned the ideas in The New Rules
of Marketing and PR or one of my other books and are eager to
implement the strategies and tactics, but somebody higher up in
the organization says “no”. People ask: “What can I do to convince
the bosses?”
Here are some of the things I suggest to people for how they can
handle the situation. Depending on your position in the company
and who the higher-ups are, one or several of these strategies might
help you.
MOST OF THE NEGATIVE REACTION COMES
FROM FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
Your first challenge will be to explain to your colleagues how the
way that people buy has changed. People go to Google and ask
friends on social media. Everyone already knows that of course,
but many people are fearful that since they don’t understand the
ideas of new marketing themselves, that they will look silly when
you ask them to implement. So your task is to gently explain,
recognize that the negativity is based on fear, and gain permission.
ASK HOW THE NAYSAYER MAKES
PURCHASING DECISIONS
One approach is to ask the person who is reluctant how they made
their last few big purchases for personal or professional use. Did
they go to Google and research that new car, vacation, set of golf
clubs or their child’s choices of university to attend? Did they ask
colleagues via email or on LinkedIn before buying that software
service for your company? Nearly everybody answers “yes” to these
questions so you can just say that you want your company to be in
front of people when they are doing their research.
POINT OUT THAT CONTENT CREATION AND
SOCIAL NETWORKING IS FREE
Sometimes people assume that new marketing is just another form
of advertising and will require a big budget. Explain that content
creation can be done in-house using available resources.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU STILL FACE PUSHBACK
I tell people that if there is continued strong resistance, you have
a few choices to make. It’s up to you how to proceed, but do so by
making a conscious choice among the following:
1) You can stick with the status quo, don’t make any changes and
keep collecting your paycheck.
2) You can quietly create content and implement social media
without permission and ask forgiveness later. If you’re successful
you might become a superstar in the company.
3) You can be a disruptive agent of change by continuing to push
back. This could quite possibly result in you getting fired. Or
perhaps you will bring the company down a new path of success
and get promoted as a result.
4) You could find a new company to work for that supports
modern sales and marketing strategies. Or you could start your
own venture. It is a strong economy as I write this and there are
many opportunities to move on.
Realize you have a choice. It’s up to you.
BONUS MATERIAL
TM.MEDIA/TM102
TO ACCESS DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT
INTERVIEW WITH SETH GODIN
ON MARKETING (AND THE GRATEFUL DEAD)
MEET DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT
David is best known for The New Rules of Marketing & PR . When first published in 2007, New Rules
opened people’s eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations on the Web and was six
months on the BusinessWeek best-seller list. He has regularly updated the book and it is now in a
sixth edition with over 375,000 copies sold in English and availabile in 29 languages from Albanian
to Vietnamese. New Rules continues to be a top seller and is now a modern business classic.
davidmeermanscott.com
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