The topic: “Marketing Mastery in the modern digital world.”

Before my working week starts, I want to share a moment of reflection. It doesn’t feel like a typical day now, as I am still in the mental space of receiving – there was a lot of wisdom, knowledge, and energy to consume and give back.

It was a beautiful environment for all participants to co-create and mastermind – a space surrounded by so much passion and enthusiasm. In the heart of the workshop was the community of learners and mentors – determined to give and receive the gifts every one of us had to offer: personality, authenticity, dedication, motivation, BELIEF!

Some people were seeing each other for the very first time, while others were being friends for years – exceptional was to witness the communications and the friendships that sparkled in the corridors.

When I traveled home today, I took with me 4 invaluable lessons i encountered during this workshop. Believe me, every one of them was delivered to me in a moment of epiphany.
Now, I need to process – within my personal rational mind – all the realizations and valuable learnings.

Here are the 4 little wisdoms, which I carried back home …

1. It Is About the Value, Not the Sale

Since the dawn of time, the Business has been done for one reason, and one reason only … to solve someone else’s problems. In our vibrant digital era, people go to the internet in pursuit of solutions to their problems. Usually, what they first see is a marketing ad claiming to have the answer they seek …

Most of us perceive Digital Marketing like a form of manipulation, which revolves around the cruel idea of “setting the bait for a sell“. And most of us have the right to expect that, given the amount of scam and threats the internet generously offers.

However, now is the right moment to understand that a self-respecting Marketing shifts the focus from “a unidirectional product-centric trade” towards a “value-driven dialog with the Customer”.

That is a complete change of perspective and attitude!

The ELITE workshop taught me that the “hard sell approach” is old fashioned and far ineffective, as it treats the Customer as a potential feelingless cash-cow. In contrast, the trend now is about the benefits, which the Business offers to its Customers.

Today, if you want to be a successfull Marketer, you must understand the Customer more than the Customer can himself.

That last ability demands the Business to nurture far different marketing skills like awareness, listening, understanding, compassion, consideration, and care.

This way, the attitude ” I need to sell YOU (the Customer) my product … “, transforms gracefully into “What value can I add to improve your daily life?“.

Similarly, the relentless ” I must upsell my services to you… “, reforms into the caring “How can I show up best for YOU in the process of choosing YOUR best solution.”

2. It Is About the Process, Not the Results

Often marketing is measured with hard numbers and statistics, represented mostly with a monetary value: the higher the results, the better the chance to find your entrepreneurship in the Gartner’s quadrants of fame.

What many forget is that the exceptional results are only but a by-product of a well-forged process, which sets the scene for true success. The process is where the hard work happens. That is The Factory of all creations where the Business is molded from raw material resources to innovative solutions.

Thus, …

A modern Marketer is focused on crafting the process, the steps that lead to progress.

Each step is then a life-lesson – a new creation of some sort – bringing closer the value to those that benefit most: the Customers.

The latter are the ones who determine (and judge) the actual results.

3. Everyone Can Do It

Marketing is not anymore, a privilege only for big companies and product-selling corporations. Marketing mastery is not witchcraft, available only for those who know the “secrets” because there are no real secrets.

Here is the revelation: Everyone can do it!

Every one of us – You and me – can be a Marketer!

We only need to be given a chance to learn the matter, try it out, and see the results of our work. If one wishes to be a marketer, the real secret is to be focused and take constant actions.

With proper mentorship and tooling, everyone can learn how to provide value for others – be it products, services, and donations. So, everyone can be a Marketer if putting the efforts to learn.

You may wonder, “How can I even start when I have no product or service to offer? “. The simple answer is: you can always promote the products of others, and when you master the skills, you get rewarded for your effort. That is the essence of the famous “affiliate marketing” business model. Hence, if one focuses on the process of learning the art of relating Customers’ needs to solutions, you can call yourself a Marketer 🙂

A burning question I had was, “But what if I don’t have the skills …? “. You see, that actually brings another aspect of the fundamental question “Can I learn something I have never learned before?”. Well, just look at how far each one of us has reached from the early infant years until today – all through learning and making baby steps. It has all started with the desire and the belief to do it. Remember how we’ve learned to walk, to cycle, to drive a car, to write, to sing, to feel, to love? Any part of our human growth is related to learning, as there is no knowledge without a prelude of education. Then the above question is really not about “whether I can learn?” but more about “how I can learn?”. And the workshop was all about answering this point …

Just as a side note, in my opinion, a more profound question is, “Would I do it and become a Digital Marketer? ”

Well, that is a personal choice: it is related to how much we see ourselves as creators of value for others. Because every time we sincerely share our beliefs with others, give feedback about an idea, or express an honest opinion on a topic, we influence other individuals. When we are passionate enough about our beliefs, these people also believe in the same beliefs. We have motivated them. We have affected their beings. That is Marketing in its pure form. That is influence!

So, if you’ve done any of the above, you ARE already a Marketer of some sort.

In the digital world, using the internet, when you market value to others, they will be more than willing to reward you for your genuine efforts.

4. It all Starts from Within

(… that is my favorite lesson from the workshop …)

I realized that if I want to become an independent Marketer or an entrepreneur, my products, services, and results are simply my external accomplishments. They have visual material expression. But those achievements would not be valuable to others if I have not created equivalent internal accomplishments within myself by investing first in my personal growth, education, and vision.

My success will bring fruits only when I nurture upfront that sheer value within me. Only then, my business front ground will be adequate with my inner background.

The most crucial factor in learning a new skill is the environment in which you learn it. So, I figured that if i can surround myself with the right education, mentoring, live events, and workshops, I should do so, and will not regret how it shapes me as an individual.

You see, i am a firm believer that everyone can learn how to create congruence, results, and discipline to be a Creator of innovations and solutions. Each of us can learn, can experiment in a Marketing Lab, and can discover the gift to influence others. Then we can appear with integrity to our Customers and can request a fair reward for our efforts.