I’m preparing before heading off to London for the rest of the week. I have a string of meetings but I’m excited about attending UKTI’s Global Marketing Conference. As somebody who used to be a Marketing Director, I feel strongly that an understanding of your customer and their requirements placed at the heart of what you do and adapting your products or services to meet demand is fundamental to any business.
I was always a little frustrated that companies had marketing departments and the rest of the organisation left them to get on with it. Marketing is so fundamental to a successful business that it’s vital that a marketing ethos permeates the entire company. I was told a story about a firm that will remain nameless that had spent a fortune on marketing and branding and was hosting a major customer day. Being a large company they had several entrances to their facility and one potential customer went to the “wrong” entrance and was sent away with a flea in their ear by an over zealous security guard. Nobody had bothered to tell him what was happening and although the company purported to have a customer focused philosophy, they did not think it important to share that philosophy with the entire company. If you want to have a culture that puts the customer at the heart of what you do, everybody, and I mean everybody, needs to get it.
I was reminded last week about the power of branding. I heard Rita Clifton, Chairman of Interbrand speak , and was struck powerfully by how much we trust the best brands in our everyday life. She talked about it not being good enough merely to have a CEO but companies need to have a Chief Brand Officer! When you realise that, even in a serious downturn, the corporate value of the top 100 global brands rose by over 2% last year, I think she has a point.
2 comments
Comment by Jonny posted on
I don't think we start out trusting brands, I think that public trust shows the true power good branding has over all of us.
Comment by Andy posted on
I think you have a point, the other issue in terms of marketing as the focal point of company activities is brand reputation online. We work with clients and help them understand social media which really can open people's eyes!