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We all know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of bad marketing. We come across tasteless ads, intrusive pitches and condescending emails that make us wonder: Why do marketers think it's OK to treat customers like that?\n\nAnd here's one of the biggest challenges: because of marketing automation, people think it\u2019s OK to send out stupid and bad marketing because, since it\u2019s not taking up someone\u2019s time, who cares right?\n\nMy guest today is Bob London, former corporate marketing exec and founder of Chief Listening Officers, a B2B marketing firm that creates strategies that 'speak to the customer.' He's spent a lot of time wondering how it is that companies become so out of touch with their audiences. In the age of automation, 'stupid marketing' has gotten so out of control, it almost makes him wonder if the companies who produce terrible marketing campaigns ever listen to what their customers have to say.\n\nThe short answer is 'no.' \n\n"You actually have to go and talk to customers" if you want to understand their needs and wants, Bob says.\n\nToday we\u2019re going to talk specifically about how stupid marketing makes it hard for salespeople to do their jobs, why it's critical to get out of the office and talk to customers, and our biggest marketing pet peeves to date.\n\n"It\u2019s like the Chinese Zodiac," Bob says. "Every year it\u2019s something different."\n\nI know you're going to love this discussion, and you're going to learn a ton from Bob London on this edition of Grow My Revenue!\n\nListen to this episode and discover:\n\n\xb7 What stupid marketing is and how it undermines a company's reputation and sales.\n\xb7 Specific examples of stupid marketing and what makes them stupid.\n\xb7 Why it behooves companies to talk to customers.\n\xb7 What not to do when it comes to email or network marketing.\n\xb7 And so much more\u2026\n\nEpisode Overview\n\nBefore starting his own company, Bob London spent a big chunk of his career in corporate marketing. That meant he spent a lot of time in brainstorming sessions, sitting around conference tables with other marketing people just like him.\n\n\u201cIn marketing and sales, you develop something called a 'buyer persona' \u2013 hopefully, in conjunction with actual buyers, hopefully not in brainstorming with people who all look and sound like each other,\u201d Bob says.\n\n"And there is zero chance that anyone in that room\u2026 can come up with the answer of what the customer really wants and needs unless you go out and talk to them."\n\nBut so many marketers fail to do that. In fact, they know very little about their buyers because they don't listen to their customers.\n\n"There\u2019s this big expos\xe9 about Hubspot from a guy who used to work there, and he makes the point that the people who are behind a lot of the emails are only using their own persona, which is: just graduated from college, maybe a journalism degree, probably played on a sports team, very high energy, very positive," Bob explains. "Too many exclamation points. That\u2019s their persona."\n\nIn this episode, we talk about:\n\n\xb7 What a 'buyer persona' is.\n\xb7 How to open up a conversation with potential clients so you don't become a victim to stupid marketing paradigms.\n\xb7 How not to make connections on LinkedIn.\n\xb7 The worst email Bob ever received and what he did.\n\xb7 Why companies need to pay more attention to how they market if they want to increase sales.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the company\u2019s responsibility to arm the sales people with stuff that matters to the customer," he says. And to do that, "You actually have to go and talk to customers.\u201d\n\nTune in for all of these nuggets of wisdom, and more, on today's Grow My Revenue with Bob London.\n\nFor full show notes and other resources, please visit: http://www.ianaltman.com/podcast/bob-london-marketing/