My marketing professor once told us a remarkable story about a time he flew Southwest Airlines. As he was preparing to stow his luggage in the overhead compartment it suddenly flew open and a Southwest stewardess jumped out proclaiming “Welcome to Southwest Airlines!”
Southwest Airlines’ legendary fun culture is an example that marketing is not a department. “More than half of all Japanese companies do not even bother to have marketing departments, because they believe that everyone in the company is part of the marketing” (Selling the Invisible).
Marketing is your business. John Jantz of Duct Tape Marketing says first and foremost, every small business is a marketing business. Peter Drucker said “the purpose of a business is to create a customer.”