From Resisting Marketing to Redefining and Embracing It

In today’s Musings on Marketing and Magic I talk about releasing any resistance to marketing. How many coaches, healers, and other conscious entrepreneurs do you know who love marketing their business? If you are one of them – congratulations! If on the other hand you recognize this as one of your limitations in building your business, it’s definitely worth looking at.

It has certainly been one of MY biggest obstacles in building my business. I spent 20 years in corporate marketing and so this resistance to marketing my own business came as a complete surprise. It was a shock for me to realize that all my marketing knowledge meant absolutely nothing without the confidence and willingness of being seen as the face of my business.

And the awareness of it was one thing. But it was only the beginning of what turned out to be quite a journey to where I am today, not only confident with my message and willing to be seen, but actually having fun with the process!

Marketing is oftentimes one-directional communication

In a journey like this, there are many stepping stones to the ultimate transformation, many small insights, aha moments, and shifts in believing and behaving. When I look back, there are many moments I could pinpoint as a turning point in my own relationship to marketing. One of the main shifts is my change in how I define marketing.

The American Association of Marketing defines marketing as: “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Generally speaking, it’s a one-way street of communication. The marketer communicates to its audience, whether it is one-to-one or one-to-many. It bears the danger of disconnect from the intended audience. And I think that’s what you often experience when you feel that a marketing message is inauthentic.

Redefining marketing as “connection building”

The more time I spent with my questions around marketing and how to start developing a positive relationship with it, the clearer I got that the word “marketing” has a strong negative connotation for many people. I eventually decided to “re-brand” it for myself. And I now call it “connection building.”

Marketing and connection building both have an energy attached to it. With marketing it tends to be a one-directional flow. Connection building on the other hand is a two-way street. And that’s the kind of interaction I want to foster with people I engage with. Whether they are prospective clients, clients, or partners, the energy of marketing I want to create allows the flow of two-directional connection.

What do you think about redefining marketing as connection building?

Until next time – be magical!