Do you know how to kill a potted plant? Don’t water it. Although plants need other sources for growth – like fertile soil and sunlight – there are plants that will survive in poor soil and very little light, but they all need water to live. Withhold the water and you will kill the plant.

Marketing is like water for good ideas. Some very innovative ideas have died for lack of essential marketing. What are the essentials? Building a brand that memorably represents your product and services. Getting the word out to the people who are likely to buy your brand. Highlighting the best features, advantages and benefits of your brand. Helping consumers say yes to buying from you by meeting their needs and showcasing how your brand is better than the competition’s.

Yet, I have encountered successful entrepreneurs who have told me they have built their business with a very good idea, but no marketing. I typically ask them a few strategic questions. Does that mean you have never interacted with potential customers to tell them about what you do and convince them to buy your products and services? Obviously, they have. My next question goes something like this: Did you talk about why your brand was good for them and how it was better than other options? Again, the answer is always yes. Guess what! You have been marketing, but calling it by another name. How so? Any time you are telling them your business is the place to go to fix what they cannot do for themselves, you are building your brand. You’ve also been marketing if you take your customer out to eat, buy them tickets to an event, meet them on the golf course, etc. If you spend time with them listening and solving a problem, you are marketing.

That all seems too broad to be called marketing. It seems that when you define marketing in this way, it is any interaction with a consumer. You are half right – marketing is any positive interaction with a consumer. Marketing helps you build your brand and that happens in more ways than just advertising your business. It happens from the first moment you come in contact with a consumer until you have sold them and make sure they are satisfied with the outcome of that sale. It involves interaction with your clients in customer service. It involves offering them a reason to come back to you and buy again and again. Without this kind of contact, your brand will die. Marketing is the water that grows your business.