There is an excellent chapter in the book Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeir that explains the concept that “Marketing is not a department.”  The authors state that “Marketing isn’t just a few individual events.  It is the sum of everything you do.”  I have often heard senior executives state that everyone is in sales or everyone is customer service.  But Rework provides a rallying cry for marketing executives to seek greater enthusiasm from employees across the business.

A few of the examples included in the Rework text were:

• Every time you answer the phone, it’s marketing
• Every time you send an e-mail, it’s marketing
• Every time someone uses your product, it’s marketing
• Every word you write on your web site is marketing
• If you build software, every error message is marketing
• If you’re in the restaurant business, the after-dinner mint is marketing
• If you’re in the retail business the checkout counter is marketing
• If you’re in the service business, your invoice is marketing