The positioning of marketing

Peter Drucker famously commented that:

- "Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two--and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation."

- “Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business."

Why did one of the founders of modern business management make such a bold statement? Why did he attribute such an important role to marketing, and how does that relate to all the other things that a business organization does? We believe the answer lies in the definition of marketing as two essential components:

1. Making a compelling promise to select customers.
2. Keeping that promise.

To put it another way, the role of marketing is to make compelling promises that we can keep and to ensure that we keep the promises we have made. Marketing therefore extends far beyond the marketing function. When done in accordance with its strategic purpose, marketing is an essential capability that involves everyone in the organization.

The attributed role of most marketing functions is to help communicate the promise in order to generate demand. When given the occasion to be strategic, marketers identify and choose target customer segment(s). Based on insights into the needs of these customers, marketers craft a relevant, unique, and credible promise. However, this is only one half of the intended purpose of marketing.

The second, and often overlooked, role of marketing is in helping the organization keep the chosen promise to target customers.Think about your own organization and employees outside the marketing function – the operators in the call center, the sales person calling on your customers, the machinist on your shop floor. How many of them:

• Know the promise you are making to target customers?
• Are inspired by that promise in a way that unleashes their collective energy and creativity?
• Know what they are supposed to do and not do in order to keep that promise?

If your organization is aligned behind a compelling promise, it is well on its way to marketing excellence.