Really, what is marketing?
7 October 2008, 9:32 pmWhat is it to you?
To me, marketing is anything but the long-held belief that it’s only one component of an organization’s activities. That it represents just the advertising and promotional tools and tactics used to “get your message out”.
This line of thinking is changing. Big time.
Today, marketing is rightfully considered to be every touch point between your organization and client/prospect.
As a result, “marketing” doesn’t just come into play when you plan to promote or advertise your brand. It’s everything before and in between as well. Offline, marketing is how you talk to people on the phone. It’s how you present yourself in print. It’s every sales meeting with a client, email you send, brochure you print, video you distribute, business card you pass out, handshake you give, and so much more.
Online, it’s every network you join, webpage you build, email you send, video you post, tweet, book you review, rating you accept, comment you make, comment you host, keyword you track.
Essentially, marketing is every impression you leave on someone, at any point during a relationship. Which makes any action that can influence how people see and feel about your brand an opportunity to “market” your business.
So as you Plant Seeds - be it online or offline - the key is to find your voice. The right voice. And present yourself consistently, humanly, all in a very real way. Because real interactions aren’t about messaging. They’re about connecting and establishing trust.
That’s the opportunity “marketing” presents.
Let’s discuss.
Tags: PlantingSeeds, Planting Seeds Online, PlantingSeeds.ca, Marketing, Marketing Definition,
