Good Horse, Bad Jockey

I heard a pretty good quote a couple of days ago:

"A good jockey can't make a bad horse win, but a bad jockey can make a good horse lose."

That's true of marketing. A company that produces mediocre products and delivers poor service won't last long, even if it hires the best marketing minds in the world. The agency may end up with some great work to show off in their portfolio, but the client and their customers are no better off than when they started.

On the other hand, there are some wonderful organizations with dedicated, talented people offering unique products and services, but whose outdated brand is sending a negative signal to potential customers. Or perhaps they do no marketing at all, or the wrong kind of marketing, and are leaving millions of dollars on the table.

In these scenarios, the good horse (the company) is being ridden by a bad jockey (bad marketing). The good horse never gets the chance to win. The fans (customers) never get a chance to see what the horse can do.That's why smart, creative marketing is so important. It gives the good horses a chance to compete. Non-profits, small businesses, multinational corporations…if they’re good horses, they merit a great jockey. They deserve to run and win.