What Learning Italian Has Taught Me About Marketing

I'm taking Italian lessons, in part because it's a beautiful language and culture, and in part because I'm headed to Italy this fall. Speaking French fluently and Spanish decently already, it's been quite a challenge to revert to baby babble status anew.

I started thinking about some of the ways that learning a language relates to marketing. Here are a few language-learning lessons you can translate into marketing success:

1. A little effort goes a long way

Last year, I spent four days in Italy, with even less language skills than I have now. I was so nervous about communicating, but the really cool thing was that even if I could only say, "Coffee. Want. Please," I was received with such a warm response that it made me more confident.

How much effort are you putting into your marketing? Are you just automating everything and interacting very little with your customers? Or are you spending time getting to know them and respond to them? The latter will take you much further.

Put it into practice: Spend just 10 minutes a day reading the streams of a few of your followers on social media. Respond to their updates and share some of their content. This ensures that you're more personable in your social media marketing, and that tiny effort can win you big points.

2. Nothing happens overnight

I've been studying Italian off and on for three years, and still a 2-year-old child has a better vocabulary than I do. If I could snap my fingers and instantly be fluent, I would, but it takes time.

With marketing, it's the same thing. There's no magic wand that will grant you millions of visitors to your website or new sales. It's a constant slog of writing, sharing, promoting, and nurturing. There's no end in sight. But after a while, you'll look up and realize that you've actually accomplished something, and that feels molto bene.

Put it into practice: If you're frustrated because you're not hitting your goals, try being a little less aggressive with them. Instead of shooting for the moon, break up your objectives into smaller, more achievable chunks.

3. Imitation is the best form of flattery

The other day, my Italian teacher complimented me on my accent. My secret? I try to sound like her. It's painful to listen to other students try to pronounce Italian as if it were English.

In marketing, imitation might be seeing what your competitors are doing to get your audience's attention. While you don't want to blatantly copy them, you can get ideas that will help you with your own strategy.

You can also imitate your contacts, or rather, share their content. When you share an article that resonates with you, they will be flattered and will more likely pay attention to you.

Put it into practice: See what your competitors are doing in terms of blogging, social media, and email, and figure out how you can do it better.

4. The more fluent you are, the better you can connect

Every day that my Italian skills grow, my world opens up a little more. I recognize words I didn't before. I'm excited to connect with the Italian staff at my local Italian coffee shop to test out my newfound language skills.

If you're in tune with your customers—if you're "fluent" in them, so to speak—you can deliver more value to them and better foster a relationship. Being a trusted brand that consistently provides useful information puts you at an advantage with your audience.

Put it into practice: Never decide that you know it all with regards to both marketing and your customers. They both continually evolve and will require constant attention if you are to retain your fluency.