I am looking at what used to be our kitchen. And I’m thinking. What happened?
The sales team was perfect. They did a brilliant job. They designed an amazing kitchen. We paid for it. We’re happy.
But…
People divide marketing into many different parts, and that’s what we’re doing when we’re talking about the marketing mix and the four p’s. But, in the end, marketing is a lot more than most people understand.
I believe that:
- Everything starts with marketing
- Marketing never ends
It used to be that one division of the company created the product, and ended up telling the people in the marketing department when it was time to start selling it. Now, if they’re doing it right, the people in the marketing department are involved in creating the product.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Harvard University creating new academic programs, or if it’s McDonald’s creating a new burger. Everything starts with marketing.
Marketing is part of;
- the organization
- communication
- human resources
- customer service
Marketing is part of everything. It’s a major part of every single person working, to the company as an organization. It’s a major part of the culture.
I’m looking at what used to be our kitchen, and I understand that some people and some businesses doesn’t agree with me that marketing never ends. It’s not just about the selling. Marketing is a process. Every single person in the company should understand that they’re part of the marketing.
Marketing is about making people happy. Selling a kitchen is not just about the sales. When you’re selling, you want your customers to be happy – forever.
A smile can be turned into a sad face anytime during a process. It’s a lot better to believe that marketing never ends. If you believe that, you’ll keep adding value to ever single detail, and keep making your customers feel good – forever.
Twitter: akbona
Thank you for stating the obvious or at least what is obvious to those who market. Now if we can just get the rest of the business world to get behind the idea.
Twitter: berget
Hi Andrea,
Thank you for the feedback. It’s obvious, but like you said, a lot of people still don’t get this
Twitter: Fatima_hipolito
Yeah that’s right sir jens, I love to see this page, because the topic you share in here is really helpful to everyone..
Twitter: brpraveen
Jens – Very true, marketing never ends!!!! It is all in getting your customers to like the product at the end. It is a continous effort and marketing can never be same as selling.
Very nicely put in words. Glad to read it.
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Twitter: berget
Thanks a lot Praveen. I just received a tweet from a person that said “marketing ends when the customer dies”
Twitter: rogiernoort
Even then.., for some company the marketing continues after that…
Twitter: barry_wells
Hi Jens,
I’m sorry to see that your kitchen still isn’t finished. How are you and your family coping without it?
I totally agree that marketing never ends, throughout each department it should always be the main focus. Keeping our customers happy should be our collective goal.
The best form of advertising is word of mouth and we’re far more likely to follow a friends advice than that of a sales team or sales page. Will you be telling your friends that you recommend the kitchen company….. I doubt it Jens so the company is losing the most import advertising aspect.
If they all sang from the same sheet they’d have a better result, as we all will. Not only that but in todays financial difficulties you’d think that people would go the extra mile to make their customers smile throughout the whole process.
I hope they sort you out soon mate…. There’s only so much Pizza you can eat (even you Jens
)
Barry
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Twitter: berget
I hope the kitchen will be finished during next week. But, it’s very interesting to look at this company from the a marketing perspective, and the only way they can survive is because they have a fantastic product.
I have been eating way too much pizza lately
Twitter: mark_harai
This is solid advice to any business owner, Jens…
Understanding this is what leads to long term customers, referrals and keeping your message consistent within your business/ organization.
Happy Friday, sir!
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Twitter: berget
Hey Mark,
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I have been learning a lot through the process of buying a new kitchen. And I sure know how not to treat my clients
I hope you’re having an awesome weekend.
Twitter: timbo1973
Hi Jens
I can’t believe your new kitchen’s not sorted yet! I’m guessing it won’t be finished by Monday?
I couldn’t agree more about marketing never ending. There’s no point in having a sales team going out and selling if the back office can’t come up with the goods once you sign up. The same goes with buying a kitchen!
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Twitter: berget
It will definitively not be finished on Monday, but hopefully sometime during the next week. But, right now I have no idea. The company hasn’t told us anything, so they might turn up here on Monday morning at 7 am and start working
Twitter: ExtremelyAvg
Your point about how quickly a happy face can turn sad is a great one. I tend to be in either one of two camps, either I love a product and will tell everyone exactly how much, or I am filled with howler monkey angst near blogging time. This usually ends in a very snarky 500 words about the company that has wronged me, with more than a few devoted to the representatives personal hygiene and how they were raised by their parents (read wolves).
Twitter: berget
That’s interesting Brian. I haven’t used my blog to express how I feel about bad customer experiences, but as long as I have a way to teach my readers about marketing based upon my bad experience, then I’ll write about it. I’ll continue to update this story, because things are happening. We’ve talked to the company and it seems that they understand that they have done a terrible job
Twitter: wonderoftech
Hi Jens, Thanks for the picture of your kitchen! I can tell already that it will be spectacular. But it’s a shame that it’s taking so long and you have to suffer through eating pizza.
You’re so right. Customer service is marketing. Care about the customer even after the sale to ensure satisfaction with the product or service..you will gain both new customers and repeat customers that way!
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Twitter: berget
You asked for it
I am looking forward to the new kitchen, even though I am ordering pizza close to every single day
I bet everybody in the marketing world will appreciate what you have just shared. I like the kitchen analogy that you have used.
Twitter: berget
Thanks for the feedback Kris
Twitter: adriennesmith40
Poor Jens, your kitchen is still not finished. Glad to know that the end is in sight.
I would have to agree with you Jens that marketing really is every part of the process. Just think of those satisfied employees working for the company who are making the products. Think about what goes into making those products, every step to finishing it. Think about the consumer’s experience when they have found the perfect product and then actually using it. Word of mouth is the most important part of marketing so each little detail is what makes that circle.
Great points Jens and you would know. You are what we now know as the “marketing guy”. The one that shares the stories and puts us into the experience.
Enjoy your week Jens and hope you’ll show us the finished project.
~Adrienne
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Twitter: berget
Hi Adrienne,
My kitchen is not finished, and I’m eating pizza every single day. I’m not really complaining, but the company that sold me the kitchen didn’t know that I would love this part of the process
Hopefully, if what they said is true, they’re going to finish the job this Thursday. I can’t wait to get the new kitchen, even though it means that I’ll be eating a lot less pizza
Twitter: ITSergioFelix
Hey Jens,
To be honest I don’t know if this looks trashed or if it looks like it’s about to be done because I don’t know how it looked before but I think that if you don’t end up with the product that made you buy in the first place, then you can definitely sort it out with their manager.
I know your analogy focuses on that marketing never ends (or if it has an end) and I’m sure that for the smart companies, the answer is “never ends”.
Just think about the people that create pain pills… they don’t really want you to get rid of the disease… they want you to get rid of the pain momentarily but keep you buying more pills to maintain the same feeling.
It’s all about recurring payments or upsells… if you had the choice, would you sell the same person many times knowing he’s already your customer or sell once and then forget about that customer forever?
Sergio
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Twitter: berget
I know, it’s hard to tell if this is a kitchen in progress, or if it’s just trashed. But I can assure you that it’s close to finished. Hopefully it will be finished on Thursday, and I can start making food in the kitchen again.
I absolutely agree with you. Recurring payments is what most businesses are looking for, and we don’t want our clients to get the whole solution and just go away. We want them to come back again and again.
Twitter: nathanfrazier77
I couldn’t agree with you more! Marketing NEVER stops. I’m a firm believer of marketing being a process and also putting ball in the customers to make the final decision on what they want. Real marketing doesn’t consist of force selling. It makes the customer feel as though they are in control the whole time; therefore, at the end they are happy. This results in repeat customers. So yeah, I agree with you that marketing never ends.
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Twitter: berget
Hey Nathan,
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I absolutely agree with you, the customer should be in control, and the goal is that the customer should be happy and start talking about you and your company. Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing.
Twitter: nathanfrazier77
I agree 100% sir!
Hi Jens,
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Marketing may not seem much for bloggers who only market themselves or their websites. However, for big companies, marketing is a lot broader involving different company departments and manpower along with a never-ending cycle of it. Why? If you’re familiar with Budweiser or Colgate, you know what their brand is along with everybody else, yet they still need to promote themselves through advertisements. Well, it’s a part of their marketing and it doesn’t stop even when you’re on top.
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Twitter: berget
That’s right. And I remember many years ago when I questioned why McDonald’s had to use advertisements. I had no idea that they had to spend money on getting customers. Every single person in our country knows about McDonald’s already, so why do they need to keep reminding people about coming there to eat? Well, as I got older I started to understand how the market works
Twitter: yeremiakpan
Hi Jens,
This is indeed a valuable lesson for us all.
Its sad to see how
your kitchen looks now. All persons in the marketing process (READ: all staff in a company) should realize that they are there to please the customer.
Whenever people lose sight of that, the train derails, as your kitchen clearly shows.
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Twitter: berget
Hopefully my kitchen will be finished on Thursday. But, even though I’ll be a happy person when it’s finally finished, I probably won’t recommend this company to my friends. And that’s the thing. We’re living in a world where connections and word of mouth is everything.
Thanks for the article. I agree marketing never ends. You can start a new marketing campaign for a different product or niche, but you never stop marketing for your company. When you meet with friends, family, co-workers, etc. it never ends… although be sure to socialize too!
In the cleaning industry we’re in, we don’t just market the high quality cleaning services we provide – we also market the client relationship we build with all clients and how we take care of them when they become our customer.
Twitter: berget
What you’re doing with your clients sounds awesome. Are you using pics and stories from your clients on your website and Facebook page?
Twitter: rogiernoort
I too would have guessed (or hoped) that by now your kitchen would be sorted. And cheers to you for not mentioning the company (yet?).
It is a good point to raise. I’m not a marketeer.., and even I know that. I am a consumer though and expecting good service after the buy is not unrealistic.
Good luck with the kitchen, hope all will be well soon. Maybe you should let the company read your posts.
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Twitter: berget
Thanks a lot Rogier. I am hoping that the kitchen will be ready on Thursday, and by Thursday I’ll have to stop eating pizza. I am not sure how many I have eaten during the past 6 weeks, but let’s just say that I don’t know many people who have eaten more pizza than me for the past weeks
I might actually let the company read this post, and I might write a post on my Norwegian blog as well. That might help too.
Mostly, i agree with you…but:
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1. everything starts with an idea
2. marketing never ends.
Thanks for ideas.
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Twitter: berget
Hi Jerry,
I am not sure if I follow what you’re saying. I understand that everything starts with an idea, and that marketing never ends, but what’s the relation?
Thanks a lot for the feedback
I mean that idea is developed through marketing.
Regards,
Jerry
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A very relevant share. For sure, marketing is the very essence of the organization and its products and service, so it can never depart. Marketing is one such activity which keeps the entire team at its toes forever. Thanks.
Twitter: berget
Thank you for the feedback Aayna.
Twitter: rancorinfotech
Hey Jens,
Certainly you’re right, Marketing is not going to end or dead. We people are very used to to marketing, and almost everything now uses marketing.
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Twitter: berget
Thanks a lot for the feedback Aasma
Thanks for the though-provoking share. I must agree that marketing never ends and we must make a conscious effort to sustain the cycle for as long as we possibly can. This is mainly the reason why even the largest firms and companies across the globe continue to advertise long after they have become well-recognized and patronized
Marketing is a continuous process and as long as we have products and services to promote we must remain steadfast and consistent about it. Thanks for the highly informative share!
Marketing means teamwork. It shouldn’t be done by one person alone. There should be good communication strategies as well.
It’s about time we get to understand that marketing never, ever ends. I agree with your points. Will be waiting more of your future posts!
Marketing is a complex concept. Every person who plans to plunge into something like that should have the needed arsenal to do so. This article is empowering. Great writing!
Twitter: berget
I absolutely agree. Thanks a lot for the feedback Sandra
Twitter: mediacrayon
Jens,
Absolutely.! The real world examples are huge to point the importance of marketing. A term ‘marketing’ refers many aspects at business and society and culture.
A well planned marketing strategy business will never fails. I would like to say marketing means effective communication to express anything to reach people.
Thanks for the nice post Jen.
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Twitter: berget
That’s an awesome reply. I keep thinking about what businesses should be doing different, and I’ve come up with that if the goal is to build strong relationships, you won’t stop marketing.