How you live your life also reflects the perception you have of yourself. It's
an expression of your self-worth. There's an old saying that others will not
value what you have until you do. And it's true.
From this perspective, the idea of "marketing" is huge! it's the way you
shake hands. The way you dress. How you answer the phone. It's how you
speak, how you look, and how you walk.
Marketing is about both style and substance. It's not enough to just look
strong on the outside, while being empty on the inside. The inner and the
outer go together. (That's why we could have also called this book Marketing
from Within!) The more you have on the inside, and the more you are able to
express it, the more effective and consistent your marketing will be.
 |
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say.
I just watch what they do.
--Andrew Carnagie |
2. Marketing comprises everything that expresses what it is that you do.
You market by the products or services you sell -- by their quality and style,
effectiveness, or usefulness. You market by your service. Do you really serve the
needs of your customers and clients? And of course, you market by your com-
munications to others: The quality and content of your advertising or direct
mail. The attitude of the people who do your cold calling. The usefulness and
quality of your promotional items (like pens, calendars, and T-shirts).
Marketing is how you treat others: your staff, your customers and clients,
your shareholders, your community, and the environment. It's the relation-
ships you build. The value or caring you invest. It is even the attitutude that lies
behind what you do and how you communicate it. Do your employees like
what you produce, or do they think it's rotten? Would you personally use
it? Are you honest or deceptive in the way you advertise and market your
product?
All of these factors express to the world what you think of your product or
service, your customers, and yourself. And all of them get noticed. The old
advertising slogan, "You tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so
on, and so on," truly applies for every business. It can be a slow process; but
it does happen.
|
