I spent my lunch hour today enjoying this video from Jason Calacanis about entrepreneurship. Toward the beginning of the video, Jason makes this comment:
There are two types of people: Entrepreneurs and everyone else.
Jason then goes on to talk about how entrepreneurs are Samurai’s and that people who work for other people without aspirations are like rice pickers. They settle. Tell us how you really feel Jason!
For whatever you think about Jason’s comments, he is trying to make the point that the two groups, in general, have significantly different attitudes about what’s possible.
I see the same attitude difference in marketers all the time. One of the main tenets of content marketing is the belief that the brand (led by the marketer) can and should create and distribute the best content in the industry. That means developing better information about the industry and what’s important to the brand’s customers than any trade magazine or media source in the business.
When I bring this up in small group settings with marketers, most just shake their heads. “Not possible,” says one. “Unlikely,” says another.
And there is the problem. Creating the best content marketing in your industry is rarely about skills, resources or budget. The best always find a way. It’s almost always about the want, need and passion that it can be done, and that it’s both good for your customer and your business.
Companies like Hubspot, Miller Electric and Pinsent Masons are market leaders because they take this belief seriously. The rest just…settle.