Marketing & Common Sense

Common sense: noun - the ability to think and behave in a reasonable way and to make good decisions; sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts; good sense and sound judgment in practical matters.

Here is a little secret that I have learned. You can take many marketing courses. You can read dozens of marketing books. You can know everything there is to know about brand positioning or advertising or search engine optimization, but if you don't have common sense, you will not be a highly successful marketer.  

There are may types of intelligence. IQ measures one type. You have heard of emotional intelligence. There is spatial intelligence. Linguistic intelligence. Kinesthetic intelligence. Musical intelligence. Existential intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence. Naturalist intelligence. And intra-personal intelligence. But the intelligence I am referring to is common sense. What do I mean by this?

You intuitively know how someone is going to behave. You know what is safe to do and what is not safe to do. You know how someone is going to react to something. You know the most logical places to look for something that is missing. You know what will work and what will not work. You know what will motivate people and what will enervate them. You know what someone is thinking. You know what is on his or her mind. And you know what you can say that will make him or her feel better. You come up with simple ways to solve everyday problems. You can get things done without overthinking them. This is common sense.

How does this apply to marketing? You know who is most likely to buy your product and who is less likely to purchase it. You know what people are thinking and what you need to do or say to motivate them to buy your product. You know what is holding people back and you can help them overcome these barriers. You know where people are most likely to go to get their information. You know who they are mostly likely to believe. And you know the arguments that can best work to change their minds. And you know where they are most likely to go to purchase your product. And rather than following complex formulas or plans, you just do what you know will work. You keep it simple and you do what makes the most sense. This is common sense marketing. 

Forget about the fancy buzz phrases. Forget about the new shiny objects. Forget about the latest marketing theory. Or the latest social media craze. Forget about the latest consulting jargon. Forget about the latest hot methodology. Just keep it simple and do what makes sense. This is common sense marketing. Never lose sight of good old common sense.