by James Copper
http://www.unitymarketing.com
©
2008
The greatest entrepreneurs in the world are also the
greatest marketers. Just think of Donald Trump and Richard Branson. No one can
accuse them of hiding their light under a bushel. One can imagine how they enter
any business meeting, completely at ease and in control of the situation. They
have branded themselves and their businesses so strongly that they are unassailable
in the marketplace.
The point about the great entrepreneurs/marketers
is that they never stop marketing. When they wake up in the morning, when they
close their eyes at night, everything is about marketing. Their marketing and
branding efforts infiltrate everything they
do.
Every
single of one their employees is attuned to the image and the philosophy of the
company. This is reflected in the office décor, the way the receptionist
answers the phone, they way that the companies vendors are treated and of course
the customers. No detail is left unattended. Everyone is dressed appropriately.
Every piece of communication from the business letter to the advertising material
bears the indelible stamp of the businesses style and marketing drive.
The
marketing philosophy of successful companies is precisely the same thing as the
business itself. Coke has great marketing capacity and it is in fact Coca Cola
itself. Everything else is subsidiary to the marketing drive from the way the
sales people act to every piece of publicity material. Marketing just saturates
successful companies. And this illustrates dramatically to customers and prospective
clients what makes the company different, what makes it stand out from the competition.
Everything that is said, the dress, the appearance of the office, absolutely everything
is part of the marketing process.
The marketing process
as it imbues a successful business is pretty much a communication method all of
its own. The image the business project is more than just informing customers
about products and services. It is more than entertaining and it is not a hard
sell type of communication such as advertising or promotions. Instead it is an
over arching and overwhelming affirmation of the company and all it stands for.
Any slogan, logo or sappy advertising line is unnecessary when confronted with
a successful business. You know exactly what its about just by having anything
whatever to do with it.
It is more than just an image ad.
An image ad counts for nothing if the company in fact has no image. In that case
it would be a nothing ad. Each ad, each piece of communication has to add up to
a huge and persuasive message that differentiates the business from its competitors.
You could say that everything about a business is marketing and the goal of marketing
is to show differentiation. It is a serious and all encompassing approach that
requires great energy and dedication. But the benefits are enormous. Start to
turn your business into one huge advertisement for your company right now, one
phone call at a time, one dress code at a time. You will never regret it.
