Sometimes you look around and wonder why one business succeeds and the next fails. Why does one business easily attract the best talent and gain new clients or customers. You may even ask yourself, ‘what are we doing wrong?’
My answer would be, you probably aren’t doing marketing. And when your response is, but we are….this is what I’ll tell you.
Marketing isn’t an item on a to-do list that includes a fancy logo and matching stationary. Marketing isn’t just fancy ads, social media and consumer promotions with calculated ROI for every dollar spent. Marketing isn’t one and done. Marketing is a mindset, driven by an organizational culture that expects every action to be a marketing tool for organizational growth.
The best companies excel because they invest in marketing at every level of the organization.
- They invest in a solid brand that touches every corner of the organization and beyond.
- They invest in communication that shares that brand with employees, vendors, clients, customers and the general public.
- They believe in what they do and stay the course without worrying about short-term ROI because they understand it’s about the long game.
- They are authentic and transparent.
- They see to the details. They do the big stuff, but they don’t overlook the small details.
- They train each employee to understand that they play a role in the marketing of the company and the brand.
- They are disciplined and strategic. They don’t just spend money because they should, they spend money because they have a plan.
- And finally, they execute on that plan every day.
I know, many of you read this far and said…yeah, yeah I get all that but marketing takes money. Yes, marketing takes money (and the amounts can vary), there’s no doubt about it, but true marketing takes commitment. Small and big companies alike, old and new, with small budgets and big bank rolls are all succeeding. The ones that succeed and win big do so because they have adapted a marketing culture that permeates their entire organization.
I think a great example of the type of marketing minded leadership I’m talking about is Suzanne Powers, owner of Powers Realty Group based in Shorewood, WI. In just a few short years she has built a real-estate brokerage that has become the leading agency in the North Shore. Many may ponder what makes her different, what tools and tricks of the trade does she have to offer that other brokerages don’t. I would confidently answer none. That’s not to say she isn’t utilizing cutting edge technology in the real estate industry and offering her agents a host of marketing tools, but the real difference is the culture. Suzanne’s expectation of organizational marketing and clarity of vision starts at the top and is conveyed to every member of her team and every client or potential client she meets. This vision is so clear that every person on the team easily understands the goals and has a plan to execute. And as this blog post reveals, she’s transparent when the vision and the goals of all do not align.
The funny thing is, highly successful companies rarely have a unique or differentiating product from their competition. They have what the entertainment industry would call the “it factor.” And the ‘it factor’ in business is a marketing minded culture.
Successful companies understand the power of a brand and they have made every employee accountable, not by paychecks or fear, but by inclusion. Every employee in the organization understands the company mission and their role in the organization’s success. Successful companies value training and education to inspire employees and foster growth. And often, it’s from the bottom that new ideas and opportunities are born because leadership empowered the entire team to be part of the marketing effort.
Marketing minded organizations have management that understands that authenticity and transparency, through good communication aren’t to be feared. What you divulge won’t give your competitors a leg up, instead it will provide their customers with personal connections that build relationships and create business growth. These personal relationships deepen our business connections and make it more difficult for competitors to unhitch you from the customer or client.
A marketing minded organization always starts with a plan and a daily commitment to follow through on their goals of daily organizational marketing. They don’t get up every day with the only goal being to make and sell the item they produce. They understand that goal is short-sighted and limits growth making the business vulnerable to industry changes and disruptive business models from new competitors. Marketing minded leaders get up every day and use marketing to create new pathways for success that continue to propel them forward and keep them ahead of their competition.
Are you already a marketing-minded organization but need tools or do you desire to become a marketing minded company and need to know where to start. Give us a call or drop us an email to get started on your strategic marketing plan or discuss building your marketing-minded culture.
Written by Melinda Goodman
Managing Partner
Melinda@FullTiltMarketing.net
