Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad To Make You Improve Results from Ordinary to Extraordinary

What proven marketing tactics from dad did you learn? 

Before you answer:
I realize that your relationship with your father may have been less than perfect.

Believe me, I get it!

At points in my life I had rocky relationships with my dad.

But I know how lucky I am:
Because my dad and I lived long enough to work out our differences.

As a result:
We built a bond as adults that extends to this day
, despite his passing over 6 years ago.

And I know that due to no one’s fault:
You may not have experience that ability to work things out.

If this resonates with you, know that I’m here to root for you.

In fact you have a community of marketing smarties who have your back.

They’ve generously shared their best marketing tactics learned from dad.

And I know these marketing smarties would be thrilled if you adopted them as your own. 

Because you don’t have to hold onto painful memories from your past!
They hold you back from the success you rightfully deserve. #YouRock!  

Go on, be brave and use this opportunity to:
Stand up for your inner self to protect it from no-longer useful hurt.

Instead take a deep breath and step into a new pair of dad-size shoes to improve your marketing, now and into the future.

Why?
Because I know if you put one foot in front of the other, you will succeed.

So use these proven marketing tactics from dad to become your best self.

 

Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad

You can study, get a mentor and/or have internships to become a top marketer.

But, unfortunately, as babies, we don’t come with the tailor-made user manuals that our dads to have. So, they can love and teach in the way that we need to become our best selves.

As a result, your father may not have been the person you wanted and/or needed him to be. And, sadly, it may not have been a conscious choice on his part. Even worse, without your knowledge it was probably one of his greatest regrets,

BUT you have the power to change your personal story!
Since many in our community have generously shared the proven marketing tactics from dad.

And by reading and sharing this article,
You can make these successful marketing lessons your story as well as to help others do the same!

 

Top Marketers Share Lessons From Dad To Make You Improve

(Editor’s note: We corrected typos and reformatted some responses to improve readability. If the changes misrepresent your point-of-view, contact us and we’ll fix it!)

David Berkowitz – Serial Marketer

One of my dad’s heroes was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and my dad always quoted of Dr. King.

Martin Luther King Jr.“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

During this period of heightened awareness, I’ve thought about this a lot. As marketers, the actions we take have an impact far beyond those we expect.

For me, it’s an opportunity to show how much we can do when we act together.

Dr. Berkowitz

Dr. Daniel Berkowitz

Heidi Cohen – Actionable Marketing Guide

My father taught me to be inclusive and to stand up for those who need your voice and your platform.

He experienced discrimination as a Jew.

As the publisher of the local newspaper, my father used his clout to persuade businesses and politicians to donate the money for a new building and on-going funding for the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens. (At the time, it was called the Richmond Hill Boys and Girls Club.)

Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens

After retiring, my father coached lower class, middle school students of mixed races. He encouraged them to stay in school and out of jail.

He worked with and inspired them to graduate from high school and go to college. As a result, their mothers hugged my dad when they graduated from high school.

Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad:

  • Be inclusive. Regardless of race, religious background, economic level, educational achievement, sexual orientation and/or country of origin, everyone can contribute to the greater good. If you just give them the opportunity to excel.
  • Teach others to achieve their maximum potential. Use your skills to help others learn and become better. (BTW, it makes you feel fulfilled!)
Norman Cohen

Norman Cohen

Douglas Davis – The Davis Group

My grandfather had a standing lunch date with a well-known conservative talk radio host in South Carolina.

In my grandparents’ kitchen, I met him and heard him rant in a particularly offensive manner.  It was so bad that it even registered as such in my still-forming second-grade brain.

In shock, I asked my grandfather:
“Granddaddy, do you hear what he’s saying, how can you listen to this!?”

Without stopping to think, the wise gray-haired patriarch responded with a smile,
“I want to know what they think.”

Those 7 words introduced me to a simple, yet critical concept:
Seek to understand points of view opposite to your own.

[Editor’s Note: More of us should follow Ben Frank Davis’s advice especially during this divisive period. #Inclusive #BlackLivesMatter #Amen)

Mr Ben Frank Davis

Mr Ben Frank Davis

Ann Handley – MarketingProfs

I learned 3 things from my dad:

  • A sense of humor. His career in IT was a big part of his identity. He loved his job and put his whole self and humor into it. I learned from him that “work” should be fun.
  • The joy of office supplies. I loved “playing work” in his home office. I wish I still had his beast of an electric typewriter. It hummed as loud as a Chevy. Also, he instilled in me a love of Sharpies.
  • The joy of fallow time. You need to be still and take the time to rest and recharge. Ideally do it on a Maine beach. 😀
William Handley

William Handley

Neil Feinstein – St. John’s University

As a high school science teacher and an amateur magician, my father taught me to be curious and imaginative. This trained me to become  Creative Director.

Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad:

  • Always search for the “Reason Why?”
Marvin Feinstein (aka The Great Marvelo)

Marvin Feinstein
(aka The Great Marvelo)

Carlos Hidalgo, Jr. – VisumCx

As a marketer, my dad often talked about the power and importance of clear communication.

As he said:
“In the absence of clear communication, the imagination runs wild.”

 

Carlos Hidalgo, Sr.

Carlos Hidalgo, Sr.

Greg Jarboe – SEO-PR

Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad:

  • Measure outcomes, not outputs.
Robert B. Jarboe

Robert B. Jarboe

Jeanne Jennings – Email Optimization Shop

In the early 1980s when people started to buy personal computers. A lot of people were blown away by how spreadsheets did simple arithmetic.

BUT, my dad took that even further to:

  • Create “if/then” models allowing him to plug in values to predict sales and revenue.
  • Use formulas to create outputs based on historic data.

While this sounds basic now, it was very advanced then.

This early exposure to the power of spreadsheets drove my love of quantitative analysis. And has built the foundation of my work optimizing email marketing for effectiveness and profitability.

Frank Sakalosky

Frank Sakalosky

Robert Katai – Bannersnack

My dad taught me to “always do the best job you can”. As a carpenter, he always focused on the details. By doing a good job, his customers always came back.

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Always do the best job you can and focus on the details. So people come back to you.
Katai Iosif

Katai Iosif

Douglas Karr – Highbridge

When I was going through a horrible divorce, my dad took me aside and said, “You have to live with yourself.”

My dad’s point:
If I did things I regretted, despite the unfair circumstances, I would regret it later.

I apply this motto to work as well.

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Don’t risk your reputation. While money comes and goes; your reputation remains constant in this world.
William D. Karr

William D. Karr

 

Jen Lehner – Jen Lehner Media, LLC

Born in the Bronx in 1929, my dad, Ed Posner, was a character.

He talked with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Even though he talked A LOT, my dad listened well. And, he loved to retell the stories of the people he met.

Most of all, he taught me to look for the stories.

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Look for the stories about people. It’s what makes you memorable and original. #ThanksDad

Robert Lersch – Lersch Global Communication, LLC

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • No one can take away your education. #Truth via Werner Lersch

 

Fiona Lucas – iRespectOnline and Futureproof Your Kids

My dad taught me resilience.

My dad always told me:
“We are like a tree in the wind. Our branches may blow and our trunk may bend but our roots stand strong “

Robert (Bob) Lucas OAM

Robert (Bob) Lucas OAM

Brian Massey – Conversion Sciences

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Once your prospect knows they need what you sell, all you have to do is give them a way to pay for it.
Chuck Massey

Chuck Massey

Cathy McPhillips – Content Marketing Institute

It’s not what my dad said that mattered.
BUT it’s what he did.

He taught us to be the person everyone could depend on to do:

  • Exceptional,
  • Accurate and
  • On-time work.

Also,
Dad taught us hard work is not only rewarded, but also expected.

Tom Harlan

Tom Harlan

Susan Moeller – TailwindApp

Growing up in a very rural area, we had a long driveway.

And every time it snowed or rained, my dad told me to slow down before turning into it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

He started saying this before I first got my drivers license and continues to still say even today. So that I hear his voice in my head  whenever I approach his driveway.

Successful Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Deliver a consistent message in the right context.  This means more than  once or twice to create memorable marketing. 🙂
Richard Carson

Richard Carson

Drew Neisser – Renegade, LLC

My dad drilled into me that excuses are useless in sports.

His often-repeated refrain:
“If you can touch it, you can catch it.”

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • With practice, you’ll drop fewer ball. Because blaming others wastes energy.
Carl Neisser

Carl Neisser

 

Diane Osgood – Osgood Consulting

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad (Joesph Osgood):

  • Keep it simple and tell the truth.

Jason Quey – Growth Ramp

As a scientist, my dad, David Quey, always thought outside the box.

While he never broke the rules, he figured out how to do things faster by using ways others never had thought about.

Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad:

  • Constantly test hypotheses and assumptions like a scientist.
  • Plan how to results faster while striving to find new ways to provide ethical, sustainable growth for clients.

Neal Schaffer – PDCA Social

As a successful entrepreneur, my dad taught me:
“I  became successful because I hired people.”

It is so simple but so true!

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Hire other people to help you to scale your business, do the work, and it business to new heights.
Frank Schaffer

Frank Schaffer

David Meerman Scott

When I was in college, my father told me the most important thing I could learn to do to succeed in business was:
Learn how to speak in public.

Without his words, my career would have gone in a different direction.

Charlie Scott

Charlie Scott

Jess Tyson – Don’t Panic Management

When I was young and burped out loud, my dad, the master of puns said:
“Bring it up again and we’ll vote on it!”

No matter how much it embarrassed me, my dad was always unabashedly himself.

His silly humor has helped me take myself less seriously, especially as I became a parent.

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Own your true voice.
  • Liberate your silliness while not always taking yourself so seriously.

 

Jeff Tyson

Jeff Tyson

Christine B Whittemore – Simple Marketing Now LLC

After retiring from the Government (CIA) in his late 50s, my dad pursued a PhD in Intellectual History.

While he didn’t understand marketing, he had a wicked sense of humor. His  business cards described him as a “Freelance Historian”.

With his love of words and language, he helped me relearn English after spending 4 years in French-speaking West Africa. So I could attend high school in the US.

Best Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Believe in yourself.
Martin J. Bergin, Jr.

Martin J. Bergin, Jr.

Andrea Zeluck – Ann Inc.

My dad always encouraged me to think positively regardless of the  situation at hand.

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Use positive thinking to conquer anything!
Lawrence Zeluck

Lawrence Zeluck

 

Proven Marketing Tactics From Dad Conclusion

What did you learn from your dad that influenced your marketing success?

I’m talking about a special marketing lesson that could only come from your dad.

For example, my dad always said “If the man wants a green suit, turn on the green light.” 

Proven Marketing Tactic From Dad:

  • Give the customer what she wants. As David Ogilvy said, “The customer isn’t a moron. She’s your wife!” (It’s no surprise since my dad was a Mad Man himself.)

To get the most out of these Proven Marketing Lessons From Dad:
Don’t focus on your specific relationship with your father!

INSTEAD, if you feel like “I have a terrible relationship with my dad,”
You’ve got a lot of very high profile peers who expressed similar emotions. 

And the number surprised me!

But further:
We learn more from what we’re not told.
(Also known as, do what I say not what I do!)

So go out there and use these proven marketing lessons from dad.

To become the best marketer you can. Despite any negative issues you may have with your dad, the world needs you to help make the world better and more inclusive for everyone.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen

Heidi CohenHeidi Cohen is the President of Riverside Marketing Strategies.
You can find Heidi on Facebook, and Twitter.

 

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