Do you need a Marketing Department ?

Each one in a company is responsible for Marketing , a Single arrogant statement by the CEO or CFO or a person who is the touch point time to the company  can create a very damaging impact for the company . More then half of all Japanese companies do not even bother to have a marketing department , because they feel everyone in the company is responsible for marketing and Marketing is not a department but it is the  business. A few elements are delineated below from the book i have been recently reading about by Harry Beckwith .

Marketing Myopia : Very often we tend not to see the most obvious , asking for external help at times is the best solution. "So much of what passes for brilliant insight in helping a company is reporting what everyone in that company could see , if only they could see it clearly . It is hard to see the real scope of your business ask for help ....

Tunnel Vision : People talk about what they know and what people know is their company and hence when companies discuss there problems they talk about themselves, But what people really need to know - is your customers and prospective ones .... Get out ! Climb out , have some one pull you out of the tunnel .

Start with every Employee and review every step ... don't start a company if you do not know how to Smile is a famous saying .. and similarly every step means how does the receptionist greet to what is written at the bottom of the invoice.

Irrespective of the Business , get to the core - Know what you are good at and what you specialize ? We all thought Federal Express was a courier company and just delivered mail quickly but when there core management team put their heads together they realized they are much more then that and they could manage logistics with extreme efficiency which included procuring ,Optimizing transportation costs  storing and forwarding and hence they are now known as the best in Logistics Management. Similarly Anderson consulting where always thought to be known as books auditors , but they realized very quickly that they knew the details to the core on information flow and systems which resulted in the setting up of the Management consultancy practice

What are you Selling ? Do Customers go to Star bucks for the Coffee at an exorbitant price or for the experience they can get from Star bucks .. focus on what the clients are actually buying .

If you are selling a service , you are selling a relationship and not necessarily a Expertise : how often do you go to your regular medical practitioner for expertise ?

The best Strategy in a War is to win without a Fight ! : Go to unchartered territories ! The Big Six accounting firms were only in the Metros and big cities .. the Eight largest one focused on the 2nd Tier and 3rd Tier Cities and ended up being positioned as the brand name accounting firm in that area .

Study all your touch Points : Your business card , your receptionist , your sales person , your project execution specialists who are all capable of living an impression on your customers ! Focus on all of them !! 

The Adapters Edge : Have we considered innovative ways that new technology can be used to improve our service and grow our business ? Making technology a key part of our Marketing plan is crucial ... are we ahead in terms of leveraging technology and have we thought of it as we will be second to none two years ahead ?