Why do marketing

Our 10 Fundamental Truths about Marketing

1. Its purpose is to grow revenues.

The sole focus of marketing is to find and keep the right clients*. So that you can earn money from them. A value exchange. You help your clients, and they pay you. Done well, you receive the privilege of serving them again.

More money.

2. Research matters.

To find out what matters to your clients. Where do you sit in a noisy, competitive landscape? Why would anyone do business with you? How to successfully go to market?

Otherwise, how do you know? You're just making it up. That never ends well.

3. The importance of a distinctive brand.

Before people do business with you, they must know about you. They won’t notice you if your brand is bland. And they won’t do business if they don’t care about you. A distinctive brand fixes these problems.

4. Strategy gives everything context.

Marketing delivers on business strategy. Without it, all activities would be meaningless. So: what business are you really in? how relevant are you to your clients? What sets you part from others? Where is your business going? Answers to these give direction and purpose.

5. Every business does marketing. Otherwise, it’d be broke.

You cannot grow your business without telling people about your business and answering the “why us” question. Being clear about your ideal client, finding them. And offering new services to existing clients. Everyone does this. Even they are networking.

6. Emotion over reason. Every time.

People “are feeling machines that think” (1). That's how humans evolved. To get to the rational part of the brain, all information goes through the emotional filters. Emotion decides; reason justifies. Even in business. Buyers are people first.

7. People buy. The sale is just a transaction.

It’s important to remember that people buy. It’s about them. Always. About their challenges, frustrations or aspirations. And the change your service delivers.

The sale is just payment. The value exchange

8. Measure measure measure.

“No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy” (2). It is true of all plans. That’s why it is crucial to measure the impact of your activity. Success is an iterative process.

Measures allow you to evaluate, respond, improve performance.

9. Marketing is an investment. Not a cost.

Marketing creates future revenue streams. Without which your business would stagnate. A cost is just an expense without any return.

Make people aware of your business; the distinctive value you offer. Attract the right new clients. Offer more services to existing clients. These activities grow your revenues.

10. Growth = Change.

Your business cannot grow without change. Moving out of “same old, same old” and into new. And as a business leader you need to embrace that, or the efforts will fail. It requires an investment of your time, energy, and money.

So the real question is, “do you really want to grow?”

*We use the word clients because of its older meaning – someone under your duty of care. We like that more expanded view of the relationship.

However, you can interchange the word with customers, referrers, patients.

(1)    Antonio Damasio – a leading neuroscientist who demonstrated that up to 95% of all human behaviour is unconscious.

(2)    Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, a brilliant military strategist, Prussian general and later field Marshall.