Why Marketing Is Easy to Be Mediocre At — And Hard to Be Good At
Lessons from Peter Cunningham, Director of Marketing at Buyapowa
Most people think they understand marketing. They watch a TV ad and have a take. They see a campaign and critique it. Everyone's a marketer — until they actually have to do the job.
Peter Cunningham has spent 20 years in online businesses across B2B, B2C, and B2B SaaS. He's seen what separates the good from the mediocre. Spoiler: it's not what most people think.
Reward Marketing Has Three Parts — Most Brands Only Use One
Buyapowa runs reward marketing for enterprise clients. Peter breaks it down simply:
Referral marketing — incentivising customers, past customers, or employees to refer others. You've had a good experience; you bring someone new in.
Reward payouts — paying out to customers for a reason. A birthday, a win-back, an apology, a loyalty milestone. Automated, personal, targeted.
Partner marketing — tapping into someone else's audience. Think Pirina (pet food brand) giving its customers access to a pet insurer's offer, and vice versa. No ad spend. Just aligned audiences.
Most brands have spreadsheets manually trying to send vouchers. Buyapowa automates the whole process — triggering, sending, and tracking redemption.
Takeaway: If you're doing reward marketing manually, you're already behind.
New Tech Always Opens New Doors for Marketers
Peter didn't start in marketing. He was an actor. He got a part-time job at an agency and volunteered to be the analytics person — before anyone really understood what that meant.
That single decision shaped 20 years of his career.
His point: marketing is one of those disciplines you can enter from almost anywhere. But you have to move fast when new technologies appear. Google Analytics, influencer marketing, AI — each wave creates a window.
Takeaway: Jump early on new tools. The people who figure them out first get a career-defining advantage.
Referral Marketing Still Works — Uber Proved the Model
Uber's early referral programme is still one of the cleanest examples of growth marketing. Referral code, £10 off your first ride, frictionless.
It sounds basic. But most companies still don't have a properly structured referral loop — one that actually tracks, rewards, and converts.
The mechanics matter. It's not about offering a discount. It's about building a system that makes referring feel natural and worth doing.
Takeaway: Before you spend on acquisition, ask whether you've built a referral loop that actually works.
Being Mediocre at Marketing Is Easy. Being Good Is Hard.
Everyone has an opinion on marketing. It's visible. It's public. People think proximity to it means understanding it.
But the gap between mediocre and good is enormous — and it shows up in the details. Targeting. Timing. Measurement. Knowing what data actually means. Knowing what to cut.
Peter's had 20 years of seeing both sides. The marketers who move fast, learn new tools, and stay close to the numbers are the ones who last.
Takeaway: Don't confuse having opinions on marketing with being good at it. The craft is in the execution.
One Thing to Do After Reading This
Audit your referral and reward marketing. Is it automated? Is it tracked? Is it actually driving acquisition — or is someone still sending vouchers from a spreadsheet?
If it's the latter, that's where to start.
Peter Cunningham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercunningham23/
Suds Singh B2B Video Content Specialist London for Interesting Content, LinkedIn.
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