In my consulting practice I talk to a lot of CEO’s, Presidents and Sales leaders. Virtually all them believe their marketing skills are very good or excellent and tend to waste little time telling me so. I can count on one hand the times I’ve agreed with their assessment.

I'm not sure but I think many people think they are good marketers because they think they are good consumers. It’s an easy assumption but is really like saying because I’m a good driver, I’m a good mechanic. It’s false logic but it is what it is. More research is required.

Kent Huffman is a great guy to follow on twitter (www.twitter.com/kenthuffman). He’s savvy and does interesting things. One of the things he did was ask Twitter marketing kabobs to define marketing.

I define marketing as good communication, which means solid writing that delivers a clear, concise and compelling message, one that is unique and stands out in the marketplace. A good marketing strategy begins online, because that's where all the people are, and spreads into offline activities such as print. (You remember print, don't you?) That means good marketing and good blogging have the same active ingredients, which is interesting. Enjoy the definitions!

"Marketing is the process of making selling unnecessary." Jennifer Aaker, Professor at Stanford University (www.Twitter.com/Aaker)

"Marketing needs to tell a story to consumers that makes them want what you've got -- truthfully, uniquely, and repeatably." David Cooperstein,  Principal Analyst at Forrester Research (www.Twitter.com/MiniCooper)

"Marketing encompasses activities that maximize the value to the customer and the return on investment when bringing a product or service to market." Sam Decker, CMO at Bazaarvoice (www.Twitter.com/SamDecker)

"Marketing extends from understanding what the customers need to making sure they get it and are happy with it." Nigel Dessau, CMO at AMD (www.Twitter.com/NigelDessau)

"Marketing is the art and science of creating mutually satisfying exchanges." Theresa Flaherty, Professor at James Madison University (www.Twitter.com/FlahertB)

"Good marketing is developing trust between a consumer and a product. Great marketing is developing trust between a consumer and a product without the consumer even knowing it happened." Jesse Friedman, Professor at Johnson & Wales University (www.Twitter.com/Professor)

"Marketing: to identify, acquire, and retain higher-margin clients." David Harkleroad, CMO at Hay Group (www.Twitter.com/DavidHarkleroad)

"Marketing is the only function to connect a business from first idea to customer use and satisfaction. For us at Kodak, we take it a step further to say it serves as a 'catalyst for growth' by leveraging people, brand, products, partners, and technologies to transform Kodak into an industry-leading growth company." Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO at Kodak (www.Twitter.com/JeffreyHayzlett)

"At its core, marketing is simply the process of connecting buyers and sellers. But to be truly effective, marketing also requires the creation of measurable, repeatable results by listening to customers and prospects, engaging in meaningful discussions, developing strong relationships, delivering value, and finally, engendering loyalty." Kent Huffman, Chief Marketing Officer at BearCom Wireless and coauthor of "Maximizing Your Marketing Efforts: Leading CMOs on Overcoming Budget Constraints, Positioning Your Brand, and Harnessing Creativity" (www.Twitter.com/KentHuffman)

"Marketing is the art of getting people to want something before they would have come to the same conclusion." Guy Kawasaki, Cofounder of Alltop and author of "Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition" (www.Twitter.com/GuyKawasaki)

"Marketing is everything you do up to the close of the sale and everything you do after the sale to keep your customer coming back." David Kimball, CMO at 10Beyond (www.Twitter.com/DavidKimball)

"Marketing loads and aims the gun. Sales pulls the trigger." Frank Sullivan, former Vice President of Marketing at Square D Company

What do you think?

Steve

Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink