Marketing: Like It's Hard

Think marketing is easy? That's why it's holding your business back.

“I just need someone to create some slicks, make sure the website works, and post on LinkedIn. We don’t need more than a marketing associate because anyone can do that.”

“I don’t understand why we don’t get more people asking about our products and solutions. Our engineer doing Google ads is doing it right.”

“We understand the value a senior marketing leader brings to the team, but we can’t afford it right now. My EA will do the same work, for less money, and while it might not be as good, we’ll get the same results.”

“AI can do everything marketing does. I just need someone who can use AI to get this stuff done.”

These quotes reflect a persistent misunderstanding of what marketing entails. For a profession rooted in messaging, positioning, and communication, marketing remains one of the most undervalued and misunderstood functions in many organizations. Over my career, I’ve worked with 30+ founders and CEOs, many of whom didn’t believe in marketing or didn’t understand its purpose. This gap isn’t just frustrating; it’s harmful. Marketing deserves a common definition and framework to clarify its purpose, refute misconceptions, and highlight why you need more than a junior employee—or AI—to execute it effectively.

More Than “Making It Pretty”

Too often, marketing is reduced to “making it pretty,” ensuring logos are consistent, and managing the website. But this oversimplification ignores what great marketers actually bring to the table.

Great marketers master markets, segmentation, positioning, and pricing. They create and execute strategies to promote the business, drive inbound interest, and build brand equity. Beyond tactics like Google ads or social media, they understand competitive landscapes, craft strategic differentiation, and launch products that impact the bottom line.

Marketing leaders also operate as collaborative business partners. They understand data, ROI, and many own the P&L. They manage teams, meet deadlines, and deliver results. They are integral to shaping a company’s strategy and positioning it for success.

No matter the organization’s size, marketing encompasses the following:

• Understanding Market Opportunity: Identifying customer pain points, evaluating competitors, and positioning solutions effectively.

• Defining Your Audience: Collaborating with other teams to develop an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and personas.

• Crafting Messaging and Positioning: Aligning communication with customer needs, competitive insights, and company values.

• Demand Generation: Creating and executing multi-channel strategies across the web, email, social media, partnerships, and more.

• Product Marketing Alignment: Collaborating with product teams to integrate roadmaps with market opportunities and ICP needs.

• Sales Enablement: Equipping sales teams with the tools and knowledge to succeed.

• Customer Success Partnership: Driving engagement and upsell opportunities with existing customers.

• Own the Systems: Define how systems like the CRM are used, the processes, handoffs, SLAs, and more to measure and optimize performance effectively.

And at the core of all these activities? The brand. Your brand isn’t just a logo or color scheme; it’s how customers feel about your company. Every interaction—from a sales email to a customer service chat—contributes to this perception. While the logo, colors, PPT templates, and images are all part of the brand, these are simply visual representations of the brand. A cohesive brand experience is the backbone of successful marketing.

Do the marketing responsibilities sound familiar? They should. Your Go-to-Market strategy and framework include every one of these elements and that is why I believe your marketing leader should own the overall GTM strategy for the company.

Why AI Alone Isn’t Enough

If I had ten dollars for every time I’ve heard someone say “We will just use AI for all marketing in the company and not hire someone,” I would be a very wealthy woman. AI has revolutionized marketing, but it’s far from a standalone solution. While tools like ChatGPT or automation platforms can improve efficiency, they lack the creativity, strategy, and contextual understanding that humans provide.

What AI Can’t Do:

1. Contextual Understanding: AI doesn’t “get” your business’s nuances, market dynamics, or customer emotions.

2. Big-Picture Thinking: AI can’t develop an overarching strategy or adapt to unexpected changes.

3. Creativity: Marketing campaigns that resonate deeply require cultural awareness and emotional intelligence.

4. Supervision: AI needs skilled professionals to input, interpret, and refine its outputs.

AI should be seen as a complement, not a replacement. A skilled marketer can leverage AI to streamline tasks, analyze data, and increase efficiency while providing the human creativity, judgment, and strategic thinking that drive real results.

By hiring an expert, you’re ensuring AI tools are used effectively and aligned with a robust marketing strategy.

Hiring the Right Person

Without a skilled marketing leader, organizations risk fragmentation and inefficiency. A misaligned hire—such as a great brand marketer who lacks demand generation expertise—can stall progress. That’s why your first marketing hire is so critical.

The right candidate should excel in:

1. Market Understanding: Quickly identifying trends, competitors, and opportunities.

2. ICP Definition: Ensuring alignment between sales and marketing.

3. Messaging and Positioning: Creating compelling, differentiating narratives.

4. Demand Generation: Driving revenue through scalable tactics.

5. Strategic Thinking: Prioritizing high-impact activities and avoiding costly missteps.

Your first marketing hire sets the tone for your company’s public image and growth strategy. Investing in someone with expertise ensures you build a solid foundation that scales effectively as your business grows.

Summary

Marketing isn’t “easy,” and it isn’t about flashy designs or buzzwords. It’s a strategic, multi-faceted function that drives growth, builds brands, and supports every aspect of your business. Whether it’s crafting a go-to-market strategy, defining how demand will be driven, effectively partnering with and engaging the sales, product, and support organizations, leveraging AI effectively, or ensuring cohesive brand communication, marketing requires expertise, collaboration, and creativity.

Hiring the right person ensures you avoid trial and error, lay a strong foundation, and scale your business effectively. Marketing is hard—but with the right leader, it’s also transformative.