Category — Getting Results

How do you know?

Marketing is a meta-meaning system that tells us how to manage the production and distribution of meaning.

What’s a meta… for? A metaphor is a map of a kind. And not to confuse the map with the territory, but if you’re going to go to war, having maps is a good idea.

Marketing is a performance metaphor. Marketing management basically tracks the value creation chain that is central if you wish to survive and thrive.

Every living system survives because what it does is valued by its environment; so much so that your environment literally pays your way. What we do as living entities (you, me, us, families, companies, government departments, even non-profits) is use resources to create value that we exchange for more resources. Not everything is embodied in the cash-matrix, but we do transact our way through life. Being a good friend can be as much to our credit as a strong investment portfolio.

Marketing is about creating value for customers.

Customers are the people in our environment who decide to reward us with more resources.

Social marketing is what you use when you have a story to tell as well as something to sell; when you want people to buy-in as well as buy. This is why marketing is a metaphor; even for non-profits.

Sooner or later performance matters.