I’ve had three interesting marketing moments today. I started with one of those great moments when a client really got the basics of marketing and understood that it doesn’t need to be complicated or scarey; that marketing is not some sort of ‘dark art’. They understood that if you set some simple, basic rules and follow them in a consistent and uniform manner it will make their communications more successful. That paying attention to detail really is important and does matter.

Which makes what we do more enjoyable because it means we can help our clients define their identity and message, set the simple, basic rules for how to communicate and present themselves and they will then use these and get real value out of them. There is nothing worse than developing the identity and message, setting the rules and then watching a client (or ex-client) ignore them or ‘amend’ them – which leads me onto my second marketing experience of the day.

Today I was reminded about how some people think that marketing and communications is so easy they can do it themselves, that they don’t need to waste money on a marketing person because they know their business and have the time to market themselves. Admirable words and sentiment but so often not always that admirable in practice. If you follow the simple rules and pay attention to the detail this approach can work, but ignore these basic guidelines at your peril. How you communicate as a business professional is so important – it is vital your message is well presented and clear if you want your business to succeed. Which leads me to my third marketing moment.

I have been doing some competitive analysis for a meeting tomorrow and during this research I have entered the ‘dark side’ of the internet – a place that I no longer really believed existed – where I came face-to-face, or rather face-to-screen, with some of the worst websites I have seen in a long time. Websites with copyrights from 2002 and news items from around the same time. Sites that could have been written in Frontpage during the late ’90s. And yet all the sites were for real, live companies who are out there marketing themselves on a day-to-day basis (or maybe they’re not!).

In what for many are very tough times it is worth looking at your business communications and how you market yourself because your website, email communications,  business cards, print materials and business documents all reflect, represent and help define your business. If they are made up of a mix of colours, fonts, logos and messages you may confuse, overwhelm or turn off your potential customers even if your product or service is the best on the market.

So your marketing solution doesn’t have to be big or clever or costly, but it does have to be well thought through, straight-forward and consistent.