Marketing is a dirty word, it carries with it connotations of loud advertisements shouting at you, hounding and interrupting. For years I thought of it as something complicated that required large spending in order to be bigger, better, to get noticed. But I learned marketing is so much more than that and also, in a way, it is so much less than that. Marketing done well lets people in, it offers heart and depth and it captivates instead of interrupts. It doesn’t need to be complicated, in fact a lot of it is just common sense and an understanding of who you are and what your customers like.
Twenty-five things marketing ACTUALLY is:
- It is serving others
- It is putting myself in my customers shoes
- It is caring about the experience your customers have
- It is maintaining a level of consistency – always!
- It is having clarity in what you do and how it can help others
- It is earning trust
- It is not sitting idle
- It is listening
- It is building relationships
- It is smiling
- It is watching and developing with the ever-changing world around us
- It is thinking long term, understanding what’s coming next
- It is communicating well
- It is putting yourself out there
- It is amazing customer service
- It is sharing
- It is giving
- It is inviting
- It is delicious packaging
- It is small actions, thoughts, ideas shared
- It is connecting
- It is common-sense
- It is doing what you say you will
- It is planning
- It is offering things others want