Inbound Business is Always Good Business 找上门的生意，是好生意

（都是一些小随笔，谢绝转载和复制，No unauthorized reposting or duplication.）

Reflections on Marketing: From "Pre-fated Failure" to an Honest New Beginning

In my previous job, I was genuinely obsessed with building a solid marketing foundation. It wasn’t a "side project" for me; I wanted to treat it as a long-term strategic pillar.

But in the end, it failed.

Looking back, the reason was simple. The company’s demographic skewed older, and social media was a foreign language to them—neither understood nor trusted. The sales team operated on a traditional "referral-only" model—passive waiting, relying on acquaintances of acquaintances. Proactive outreach was tied down by countless restrictions. In fact, clients brought in through marketing were often met with suspicion: "Where did this lead come from?" "Is it reliable?" "Will they actually close?"

Over time, you realize something subtle: for a traditional Destination Management Company (DMC), it’s not that marketing fails to prove its value; it’s that it’s placed in a position of distrust from the very beginning. The marketing department becomes like an organ declared failed before it’s even born—judged "useless" before it has a chance to grow.

At the time, the department consisted of just one person—me. It was a setup so fragile that the slightest breeze could blow it away. I felt frustrated, oscillating between "Am I not good enough?" and the faint realization that this wasn't a problem hard work could solve. Marketing is never a solo act; it requires a collective consensus on one fundamental question: "Where do new clients come from?" If a company only believes in referrals, marketing is just a planet spinning in isolation. It’s like the dating market—two great people can exist, but if the matchmaker never makes the introduction, they’ll never take that first step.

That experience wasn’t meaningless. It taught me early on that in some environments, it’s not about your performance; it’s that what you do simply has no room to survive. This isn't a critique, just a reflection. (Laughs)

How should a DMC do marketing? What type should it be, what effects should it achieve, and in what form? Can the company’s profit margins even support such a department? Many questions remain.

By nature, a DMC is like "the woman behind the scenes"—working silently in the background, following up on every detail, and maintaining a complex web of relationships. Legally, we are bound to B2B operations and cannot face C-end customers directly. In that case, does marketing still matter? And if we were to do it, how?

This morning, the four of us sat down for a small meeting. The beauty of a young team’s mindset is its directness—no beating around the bush, no pretension. We didn't debate "whether" to do marketing; we skipped straight to the reality: What effect do we want to achieve? To be seen? To be remembered? Or to be the first name that comes to a client’s mind when they have a real need?

Everything became clear. If it’s just for exposure, there are a hundred ways. But if it’s for "trust," you can’t rush it, and you certainly can’t fake it.

We quickly reached a consensus: We aren’t building "marketing that looks impressive." We are building a process that allows others to slowly understand what we do and why we do it. It’s the process of articulating exactly who we are.

A word suddenly flashed in my mind: Corporate Culture.

Yes! Marketing, internally, clarifies our sense of mission. It ensures every new member knows what we are doing, why, and where they fit within the team. Externally, it demonstrates that we are a professional, reliable company for long-term partnership. If it brings in business, fantastic. If not, we’ve at least left a clear trail proving that we thought deeply and chose our path with intention. For a growing company, this is perhaps the most honest and valuable start marketing can have.

On a practical level, human energy is finite. Whether or not "six degrees of separation" is true, a salesperson still only has 10 hours a day. Why not let the clients find us? Every department should support the other: Sales generates the revenue to fuel Marketing, and Marketing brings in more clients. Even in a traditional, labor-intensive industry like ours, there is immense potential.

Believe this: any business that comes knocking at your door—large or small—is good business.

If you think it, do it.

前一份工的时候，我其实挺执着于想把 marketing 做起来的。

不是那种“顺便做做”，而是真的很认真地想把它当成一件长期的事。

但最后，没做起来。

原因现在回头看，其实也不复杂。

公司员工整体年龄层偏大，对社交媒体这套东西不太熟，也谈不上理解。

而营业这边，一直是很传统的模式——靠介绍、再介绍、熟人带熟人。被动等待。主动出击的限制事项很多。通过 marketing 进来的客户，反而会被多看一眼。“这个客户哪里来的？”“靠谱吗？”“真的能成交吗？”

久而久之，你会发现一件很微妙的事：对于传统地接社来讲。不是 marketing 没有机会证明自己，而是它从一开始就被放在一个不被信任的位置。

于是 marketing 部门就像一个还没出生就被宣告失败的器官，还没来得及长大，就已经被判定“没用”。

当然，那个时候整个部门也只有我一个人，属于是风一吹就散了的配置。

我其实也挺挫败的。一边觉得“是不是我能力不够”，一边又隐约知道，这不是一个靠努力就能解决的问题。marketing 从来不是一个人的事，它需要的是整个公司对“新客户从哪里来”这件事的共识。

如果公司只相信熟人介绍，那 marketing 再努力，也只能在旁边自转。岔开话题，是不是有点像相亲市场的场景，两个人都很好，各自优秀，但是红娘不介绍，怎么也跨不出那一步。

这段经历倒也不是完全没有意义。至少让我更早看清了一件事：有些环境，不是你做得不够好，而是你做的事情，在那里本来就没有生存空间。

这里不是批判，只是反思。（笑）

地接社怎么做marketing呢？地接社的marketing 需要具备什么类型，达到什么样的效果，怎样的形式展开？公司的利润是否能支持这样一个部门的产出？

很多待解答的疑问。

从地接的性质出发，角色属性，是「背后的女人」这样的存在。默默在后面耕耘，大小事follow，三姑六婆的网络维系。

从地接的从属法律规则来讲，他只能做BtoB的业务。没有办法直面C端客户。

那么做market的意义还有吗？

如果是我们做，该怎么做？？

今天早上四个人聚到一起，开了一个小小的会议。

年轻人的思维有一个很直接的优点——不绕弯子，也不假装。

我们没有讨论“要不要做 marketing”，

而是直接跳到了一个更现实的问题：我们想要达到怎样的效果？

是被看见？

是被记住？

还是当客户真的有需求的时候，第一个想到的是我们？

讨论到这里，很多东西一下子就清楚了。如果只是为了曝光，那方法有一百种；但如果是为了“信任”，那就急不来，也骗不了。

于是我们很快达成了一个共识：

我们要做的不是“看起来很厉害的 marketing”，而是让别人慢慢理解我们在做什么、为什么这么做。一个能把“我们是谁”说清楚的过程。

脑子里面，突然浮现了一个总结性的词：企业文化！

是的， 企业文化！

一个是通过marketing明确企业内部的使命感，让每个新加入的人都知道：

我们在做什么，为什么要这样做，以及自己站在这个团队里的位置。

一个是通过marketing对外展现这是一家专业的、可靠的、可以长期合作的公司。

如果最后能带来合作，那当然很好；如果没有，至少我们留下了一条清晰的轨迹，证明我们曾经认真思考过，也认真选择过。

对一家还在成长中的公司来说，

这或许已经是 marketing 最诚实、也最有价值的开始了。

另外一个非常现实的原因，人的精力是有限的，无论这个地球通过6个人可以联系起来的学说是真是假，sales仍需要花大量时间去找客户，一个人一天可用的时间仅仅10小时。那为什么不让客户自己找过来呢？公司任何一个部门都是互相支持的，sales赚钱解决marketing运营问题，market带来更多客户，即便是我们这样的传统行业，人力行业，也是大有所为。

要相信，找上门的生意，不论大小，肯定是好生意。

想，就去做。

（都是一些小随笔，谢绝转载和复制，No unauthorized reposting or duplication.）