It's all marketing

It’s easy to narrowly define marketing as “a range of actions we take to get leads.” It encompasses direct mail, prospecting, advertising and publicity. Marketing also is commonly thought to include Web-related activities, networking and publicity. There are free shred events and educational events such as the “lunch and learns.” And don’t forget trade shows, sponsorships and even signage.

However, marketing is much more than just the tactics outlined above. David Packard, the visionary co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, once remarked, “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.”

I believe that marketing is anything and everything you do to attract, engage, retain or motivate customers. It encompasses everything that impacts the customer experience in any way, at any point, for better or for worse. Everything you do is marketing, and everyone who does it within your company is in marketing.

The fact is—it’s all marketing!

If you were to list every single encounter that you have with your company’s prospects or customers, you’d discover all the marketing activities and events that exist. Each encounter is a moment of truth that will either attract or repel business.

Here are some examples for your consideration: How does your staff answer phone calls? How many times does the phone typically ring before being answered? Have you ever listened in on calls to hear how your staff handles customers? What about your voicemail messages? Have you created a standard outgoing message so your prospects get correct information and have a good experience with your company, even when no one is available to talk with them? You cannot ignore the importance of these day-to-day phone-related activities to your marketing.

Furthermore, how about the emails leaving your business? Do they pass the marketing “sniff test”? What about the cleanliness and condition of your business property? Are your invoices easy to understand? How do your vehicles look? Are your drivers courteous and safe on the road? How do they park your vehicles throughout the day? All these things represent your company and are marketing opportunities to leverage.

I could list many more examples, but I know you get the point. Everything you do matters—it all has an impact. It’s all marketing; be sure to act accordingly.

Tom Adams is an executive coach and strategic advisor to RIM service companies. Check out his Thrive in 5 videos online at www.TomAdams.com.