Marketing: 'But Everybody Else Is Doing It That Way'

Now, not everybody can consistently come up with something new and effective every day. Sometimes, the best thing to do is what everybody else does, particularly if it's effective. In fact, despite the reality that no rule in marketing is inviolate and inflexible, some things work best when they're done within a traditional pattern. Not all things. Some marketing practices require imagination, even in a traditional context. And then there are fads.

Are marketing fads harmful? Not particularly. Nor are they particularly helpful. How do you compete if every one of your competitors uses the same marketing tools in the same way as you?

Some marketing fads, though, are merely a statement of lack of imagination. Certainly, jargon and clichés aren't very helpful. Unfortunately, inherent in fads are the elements of a stopped clock, which is right twice a day.