Marketing is practiced at the behest of senior management.

It is to company leaders we must look if marketing is truly going to make headway.

As to “how many marketers practice the trade with the thoughtfulness with which you (rightfully!) ascribe?”

Not many.

The difference is often in understanding qualitative vs. quantitative results. It’s easy to see on blogs, for example. Do you want numbers (lots of hits) or dedicated readers who contribute (fewer hits, but better readers?)

Many marketing folks get caught in the number of widgets instead of how passionate their widget buyers really are. You can make money either way, but when start thinking about all those other crazy factors: sustainability, market share, brand value, yadda, yadda … suddenly selling numbers alone just doesn’t matter too much.

So the question becomes: how many marketers practice the trade with the thoughtfulness with which you (rightfully!) ascribe?

More than people think? Less than people think?

While I do not disagree that marketing is in the final analysis about selling stuff. The approach you take to get there can be either through the sales model or the marketing model.

As a marketing professional, conversational marketing or social media is nothing new to me because the marketing concept is all about listening to customers to understand their needs and wants and attempting to satisfy their needs and wants efficiently, and profitably. That means I have to listen to customers if I want them to buy stuff, that means I have to converse with them.

So to answer your question, can marketers ever get social media, I answer yes, if they practice real marketing.

We aim to please, here at PR-Squared, Jesse.

Bravo!

Jesse

PS – I happen to love puppy dogs in general, but as a Boxer owner, the pic you chose really struck a chord!