I have been active in the advertising sector for 14 years.

I have been blessed to work with some influential game-changers, and learn from a handful of poorly managed businesses.

What remains constant is the request to market products and services without forethought as to the consumer journey.

Marketing and subsequent lead generation may help the bottom line, although it does nothing to promote brand loyalty or the final outcome.

Every business engages in marketing; be it as straightforward as an elevator pitch, local product sampling, or high-spec national advertisement. It’s safe to say that a majority of brands in all industry still market out to people about their service or product first message second if at all

So why push products and services on consumers who may not even be interested? A veteran in retirement is highly unlikely to be interested in Netflix’s Black Mirror, for instance.

Proof to point, the Zune was a more elegant and seamless device that went to market at the same time as the iPod; while the iPod Touch quickly gained stardom due to Apple’s brand message, Microsoft marketed a product first and the launch was a failure.

Household names like Apple, Virgin and Amazon have sold first their brand image and are next known for their products and services.

Educating businesses is key to avoid further campaign failures. Marketers, like myself have the opportunity to share knowledge, consumer trends and insights from the successful brands we have worked with.

It is our prerogative to instill trust and a longer lifetime value for our clients, in turn characterizing a brand’s identity that leads to loyal consumers and a much sturdier bottom line.