We Are All Marketers. . . Yes, You Too

If (human) = marketer

Yeah. You read it right. I said it. You are a marketer, yes you are!!! Now don’t tell me you are a software developer, or business analyst, a Salesforce admin or anything else. First and foremost,  you are a marketer. Much of everything else you do in life is secondary. I mean everything! 

Don’t believe me? Okay here we go. (sigh)

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines Marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

So marketing in essence, is any activity that creates, communicates or offers value to another party.

Hmm? Let’s take a look at just one aspect of a typical workday.

Dressing for Success

Did you get dressed in “work attire” today?

I bet you did. Very doubtful you left the house in those extra comfy, holey sweat pants you lay around in on the weekends.

Chances are, you either “dressed for success” in some fresh and up-to-date fashion or expressed your artistic self  with creative flair.  Yep… Dollars to donuts you went to work looking your best, with special attention paid to grooming for the benefit of your colleagues and or clients. Guess what?  You were presenting, aka “marketing”, your personal image to others. And the reason you did so is because you know your image is part of your brand.  Oh yes I said it!  You have a personal brand.  We all do… whether we wish to admit it or not. Your personal signature might be defined by wearing a scarf, dressing in polka dots or streaking your hair with pink highlights. These branding techniques make you memorable and set you apart from others.

And it’s your brand that tells others how to treat you. You spend boatloads of cash  and oodles of time and effort into cultivating your brand so people will like and respect you. In turn, your brand reflects upon your employer and tells customers how you much you value them.

So by “dressing for success”, you “marketed” your personal brand at your job and to every other human you interacted with through the work day. You made the effort to present a positive personal brand which provided value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. That’s marketing y’all.

I should note that your brand goes far deeper than your adorable auburn tinted curtain bangs and that fabulous Jackie O dress you have on. Attitude and energy play a part too. You project out to the public the same vibe that you are feeling inside. But that’s a topic for another day. Lol.

Key Takeaway:

All of us have a personal brand and therefore we are ALL marketers.