Marketing is not a function, a department or a specific skill set. The organisation which limits marketing to the ‘marketing department’ will do just that – limit its understanding of marketing, and misconceive how it is viewed as a business externally by customers and stakeholders.

Marketing is the way an organisation presents itself to the outside world in every dimension, from the smallest detail in handling a phone call to the most expensive media campaign. It is about how it communicates itself to all its stakeholders, not just to its customers but also to its suppliers and partners. It is also about what it says about itself to its colleagues, to the very members of its world most charged with delivering its success.

Marketing is the ultimate descriptor – it is about communication, but it is not simply about words. The nature of your products, the way they are designed, how successfully they are sold and delivered, and the way your services work say as much about your organisation as any campaign ever will.

Successful marketing makes a promise and delivers it, and delivers it time and time again. Unsuccessful marketing makes a promise and lets the customer down.

All too often business leaders overlook how inclusive successful marketing needs to be – they forget that every employee, every action they take and every system and process say something about the organisation, its ethos, its values and its goals. All too often, organisations promise in campaigns but fail to deliver at the operational level – good intentions in a campaign not translated into actions.

As a leader, you are chief marketing officer – you must embody the external promises of the organisation, and ensure that your whole team does the same.