Products of intellectual labor do not exist at the time of sale. Unlike consumer products that are tangible / familiar / easy to understand.

Positioning, promotion strategies, branding, creativity, designs – you can’t see any of it before the purchase. Many, in general, order these services for the first time.

And where there’s no past experience, new data is assessed based on previous experience, which causes a number of myths and misconceptions regarding marketing / communications. Let me share one of the most common ones.

THE MYTH: Investments in marketing / communications are OPERATING EXPENCES. And if so, they should pay off almost instantly.

THE TRUTH: Investments in marketing and communications are CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, better known as “the acquisition of non-current assets for long-term use and the gradual transfer of their value to the final product”.

Positioning and branding are designed for many years to come; a promotion strategy has an annual planning horizon, but it often remains relevant a lot longer; site update is very rare; promotion is generally maintained, as long as there is something to promote.

And since we transfer the “marketing / communications” section from the operating to the investment budget, we need to change our attitude towards these investments.

1. Your investments may never return to you. And if they do, the payback period depends on the specific nature of your business, on how you run your business and how competitors operate theirs. When it comes to different factors, there are too many to count.

2. Analysis of the return on investment is not meant to be carried out in the short run. If you really want to, you can analyze and, if necessary, change the tactics of communication once every 4 months. Changing tactics every month is like digging up rice immediately after having planted it. We get it, one’s gotta eat, but …