Changing the Way We Think of Marketing for Technology Companies


When considering the content marketing strategy for your software or technology company, it is prudent to consider the following fact: The only function within a organization that truly produces revenue is marketing. Traditionally, marketing is viewed as an expense that could potentially be minimized in order to save money – perhaps a few headaches too. The truth is that marketing is the only proven way to increase profits in such a fashion that you can simultaneously measure your return on investment. Manufacturing, administration, finance, IT and HR are all necessary parts of the machine, but are cost centers nonetheless.

Looking at it another way, attorneys, accountants and IT professionals all cost your organization money. This isn’t to say that the money isn’t well spent, or that these professionals don’t sometimes save corporations a lot of pain; it’s just that they do not produce revenue, and marketing does. This then begs the question of why the law firms command such a greater retainer than marketing firms. The answer is that marketing has become the place that produces expensive brochures and ads, and hurts the company budget.

Changing the Way We Think of Marketing for Technology Companies

On order to get your tech company’s marketing department to take it’s rightful place in the organizational hierarchy, it is important to stop using the word marketing to describe every individual aspect of the process. For example, if we’re talking about promotion, why not say promotion. If it’s adverting that needs to happen, label it as advertising, not simply marketing. This might not seem important, but the psychological effect of calling things the right names has been known for many years. 

The next step is to hire people that are familiar with all aspects of marketing, not just promotion and advertising. Although there will always be a place for the writers, the photographers and the designers, these people should only make up a portion of the team, not the entire department. The following seven-step article will outline how to change your marketing centre from a place in your organization that is thought of as a money drain, to the primary centre for growth and revenue that it truly is.