I was recently riding in a Lyft on the way to the airport. I had a young friendly driver who asked me if I was traveling for personal or business purposes. We eventually got around to my “profession” and I explained I was a business coach who worked with my clients on business strategy and a marketing plan.

What was then interesting was his response. “Marketing is unnecessary”.

“I beg to differ”, I said with a chuckle and an interesting discussion continued.

His take – its all sales. Nothing else matters.
My take – it all matters!

From marketing to sales, and EVERYTHING in between, a successful business needs to look at the big picture. That means the board room to the bathroom – in a funny sort of way. As a successful entrepreneur for over 23 years, I firmly believe there are many things that need to be incorporated into creating a thriving company.

Marketing is everything you do, from walking into a room at a networking event, to what you post on social media and write in blog posts, to the feeling someone gets when they come to your website. There are numerous marketing “channels”. Social media, your website, email and direct mail, video, events, networking, referrals and the list goes on. The marketing leads up to closing the sale by engaging your potential client or customer and building the relationship.

Consumers are looking for the relationship. It’s a rare day, if ever, that you can post something on social media or send an email and create $1000’s of dollars without putting time into building a “relationship” with those on the other side.

I’m not sure that I convinced my Lyft driver, but I certainly confirmed my beliefs. Even the millennials are looking to companies with a social consciousness. That is not relayed in just sales – it’s shared through everything that company does in any public forum where their ideal target client is located. So keep that marketing going!