You know more about marketing than you think you do!
by Janet on September 8, 2009
in Marketing 101
This post originally appeared in longer form on an older blog, MarketingIdeaBlog.com. I am re-publishing it here because I believe the information is not only still valuable, but because it can help readers better understand my approach to business communication.
“I know nothing about marketing!”
Is that the lament that brought you here? If it is, take heart: you know a lot about marketing, but much of it is so ingrained that you don’t even realize you know it. That’s because your definition of marketing is probably limited to something along the lines of, “Marketing consists of advertising, sales letters and cold-calling.”
To convince yourself that you do, in fact, know something about marketing, just broaden your definition. Marketing is, actually, everything you do to attract, serve and keep your customers.Think about that. If you truly view marketing as “everything you do to attract, serve and keep your customers,” that means it encompasses everything from what you’ve named your business to what music plays when folks are on hold to how efficient your refund policy is to how personable your receptionist is.
By this definition, marketing includes prospecting, advertising, promoting, publicizing, producing work (or delivering goods) and maintaining customer relationships. And I’ll bet you know something about each and every one of those.
Of course, broadening your definition of marketing isn’t just an exercise self-esteem-building (”Hey, maybe I do know something about marketing after all!”). There’s a trade-off for that little ego boost. When you see marketing for what it really is, you elevate it to its true level of importance. And then you realize you can’t relegate it to the back burner. And you can’t skimp on resources devoted to it.
And then you begin to get a headache, because you recognize that this little blog you stumbled onto is going to encourage you to spend money. And time. And talent. On marketing, that thing which you know nothing about. Aren’t you glad you’re here? Me, too!
Photo from the Flickr stream of Cowbite.
