5 Marketing Cliches You Shouldn’t Roll Your Eyes At (Much)

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times, but that doesn’t always mean the marketing mud you throw against the wall is sticking.

The only thing we’re bombarded with more than advertising in our media saturated world is the clichés that guide the teams that create them.

And both, for better or worse, go in one ear and out the other.

But they still have value. A recent survey that asked small business owners what mantra they ascribe to found these top 5 answers. If you dig beneath the corniness of the cliché, there’s some actual marketing value to glean: 

1. “You are only as good as your people.”

No product, magazine, website, webinar, video series, or infographic can replace the value of good people in your organization.

Whether they are answering phones for you, representing you on social media or at conferences, writing for your magazine or putting on your webinar series, your people are the connecting point between your business and the outside world.

Most bad restaurant reviews start with a variant on “our waiter was terrible.” Most complaints about airlines start with “the guy behind the counter was a jerk.” Most business relationships end because the people involved just aren’t getting along. Invest in yours. It’ll pay off.

2. “The customer is always right.”

Though this is admittedly a tough pill for the aforementioned “people” of your organization to swallow, it needs to be the underlying principle that guides your day to day decision-making as an organization.

Whether you’re making sandwiches or magazines, your end customer is who you need to serve. Their voice is the one that needs to be listened to. Their opinion counts more than the cumulative sum of all opinions in the board room. The customer is what makes or break the business. Serve them.

3. “Never stop marketing.”

Who hasn’t heard this: “the first thing that gets cut is the marketing budget” when things get lean. This is the fastest way to lose market share and disappear from potential customer short-lists. Marketing is not a one-and-done game it is a marathon of consistency.

4. “It’s all about who you know.”

By making yourself – and your business – accessible to people, you’re opening up the proverbial funnel that could lead to more business being sent your way. Network, make connections, listen to people, interact with them in a useful and meaningful way and build relationships. Relationships serve as inroads and incubators for further business.

5. “It’s about being in the right place at the right time.”

This one speaks to diversifying your marketing approach. People’s attention is split between a variety of sources: radio, internet, mobile phones, magazines, TV, newspapers, tablets, etc. At any given time they could be conducting a web search, browsing the back pages of a magazine, or stuck in traffic listening to the radio.

The question is – what does your brand’s voice sound like there, or is it silent?

Cliches may be obnoxious, but they are based on truth. Don’t throw these ones away just yet, you might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.