I recently read an online discussion entitled: ‘What is the meaning of marketing to you – in 1 or 2 words?‘.
The range of answers was wide and fascinating, and reading this was particularly apt given the conversation I was due to have with some junior managers at one of our clients the next day. During an introductory training workshop on growing their revenue, I asked them to define ‘marketing’ in two words and it was very interesting to see what they came up with.
Every business gives a slightly different construction to the word ‘marketing’. For some, it’s a ‘cost-centre’ of little strategic importance; a function that spends money on brochures, coasters, pens and umbrellas, and often is first to suffer when savings need to be made. For others, it’s more strategic but removed from the day-to-day business of generating new customers, or looking after existing clients.
For us at RCR, ‘marketing’ is a useful shorthand for everything you do to generate revenue (and profit) in your business. This means the whole spectrum of activity you might undertake to find new business, convert opportunities and deliver to clients. Equally importantly, ‘marketing’ is both a function in your business, with staff, budgets, processes and reporting lines, but it’s also about the culture and ‘attitude’ you want to build.
Ultimately, for the business owner, we think marketing is about ‘increasing valuation‘: good marketing, done well, should increase the profitability and ultimate value of your business.