In order to distinguish pure marketing from other related professional services, S.H. Simmons, author and humorist, relates this anecdote. "If a young man tells his date she's intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he's saying the RIGHT things to the RIGHT person and that's MARKETING. If the young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is — that's ADVERTISING. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is — that's PR (public relations.)"

Think of marketing management in these terms: If business is all about people and money and the art of persuading one to part from the other, then marketing is all about finding the RIGHT people to persuade... and give them the big REASON why.

According to Theodore Levitt, the world's greatest marketing mind and author of The Marketing Imagination...

"Exceptional marketing and marketing management is critical to building a business because it establishes credibility and brand authority in the eyes of current and potential customers. Marketing management, when well done, spells the difference between a business that becomes nothing more than a draft nag, and a racehorse where WINNING is everything."

In fact, great marketing means, Everything Matters...

Every aspect of a successful business is guided by exceptional marketing: Your trade dress, company colors, advertising programs, corporate communications of every nature, brochures, handouts, signage, flyers, catalogs, labels, shelving, PR, marketing research, your organizational attitude (young and hip/ mature and respected)... promotions, pricing, channels and methods of distribution, product research, packaging, uniforms... everything that either creates or leaves an impression (hopefully positive) on every member of your potential audience.

Beyond simplistic demographic analysis and more sophisticated psychographics, successful market strategy and brand positioning is based on exceptional behavioral analysis where you truly "get under the customer's skin"... seeing even what the customer him or herself cannot begin to see... intrinsically "wanting" what you sell without fully understanding why or the appeal.

When marketing is done well, it is virtually indistinguishable from pure MAGIC... where purchasing your products and services almost seem like an "involuntary impulse"... the positive effect of pure "conditioned response".

No question, great marketing is an essential INVESTMENT, not a COST to be shaved.

Great marketing must be BUILT in, never "added on." It is framed in TRUST and INTEGRITY. It is telling your audience WHO you are, WHY you can be trusted to serve them, and all the "feel goods" about HOW and why they should choose you over your competition.

It is found in the shape and color of the Buy Now button on your perfectly designed web site... it is found in the details manifested in the touch and feel of not just your product, but the brochure describing your product... and the TV ads that drove people to request the brochure.

Put simply, great marketing not only makes people WANT to do business with you... it makes it EASY for them to make that decision. To build a truly great business, you must take these two words dead seriously: INNOVATION and MARKETING.

Innovation comes first... staying ahead of the customer just ever so far... and brilliant Marketing makes sure your customers "get it" and "want it".

Clearly, making you stand out from the herd — the Purple Cow of your industry as marketing expert Seth Godin would say — is what the Marketing Management function is really all about.

Excellence At This Function Means You Can Say...

• My company engages the best marketing minds in the business to keep our company fresh and relevant...
• Effective marketing is woven into our DNA, not an afterthought added on after the fact...
• At every point of contact with our customers (product branding, corporate identity, advertising and PR,) we clearly communicate our values, attitude and expression of doing business...
• We live the phrase "Great marketing defines great businesses" and spend a great deal of time finding new ways to differentiate ourselves from our competitors... positioning our company as the winning leader in our industry.
• Our marketing and sales efforts are perfectly blended for maximum effectiveness.