Marketing Tug-of-War in Multi-Layer Brands | Beth Trejo | 1212

Ever feel like your marketing plan is the rope in a tug-of-war match?

The sales team is pulling one way. The owner is pulling another. Someone's daughter took a marketing class in college and has opinions. And the person who's actually responsible for the campaign is standing in the middle, trying not to get dragged through the mud.

That's why my conversation with Beth Trejo really struck a chord with me. 

Beth is the CEO and co-founder of Chatterkick, and she works with franchise organizations, multi-location businesses, and other companies where marketing decisions rarely come from just one person. While her examples came from large organizations, I couldn't help thinking about all the small businesses I've worked with over the years. Sometimes a "multi-layer brand" is just a family business with three generations around the conference table.

A few things stood out from our conversation:

• Marketing isn't just about customers. Sometimes you need to market your ideas internally. Beth pointed out that marketers spend a lot of time building buy-in inside the organization. If stakeholders don't feel included, they'll grab the rope and start pulling in their own direction.
• Not everyone has to participate the same way. Some people love being front and center. Others would rather hide behind the camera. Beth's advice was simple: meet people where they are and help them contribute in ways that feel natural.
• Stop arguing and start testing. This might have been my favorite part of the conversation because it brought back memories of my corporate days. When someone insisted my idea would never work, I'd ask for a small test. Data has a wonderful way of settling arguments without bruising anyone's ego.
• Local voices make brands stronger and easier to find. For franchise and multi-location businesses, there needs to be consistency. But there also needs to be room for local personality. That's good for customer relationships and good for SEO. Search engines, just like customers, want signals that you're connected to the community you serve.
• Remember that you are not the customer. This sounds obvious, but it's amazing how often we forget it. The things we like, dislike, click on, or ignore may have nothing to do with what our customers want. The strongest marketing teams stay curious and let customer behavior guide the decisions.

Ultimately, it isn't about winningt the game of tug-of-war, it is about .getting everyone to pull in the same direction, the customer's direction!