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No matter where you are in the life of your business, it's absolutely essential to understand the distinctions between these three activities and how each one fits into the big picture of a thriving company. If you don't, your efforts to grow your enterprise will NOT yield the results you want.

MARKETING: The ultimate goal of marketing is to match your company's products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby ensure profitability. Marketing is everything you do to acquire and maintain a relationship with these customers.

SALES: The transfer of goods to or rendering services for another in exchange for money; to persuade or convince or induce someone to buy or accept something.

Many people confuse sales and marketing. Marketing is the on-going consistent activity we engage in to attract, gather and keep those people who best fit into our businesses' ‘tribe'. Even the small tasks like writing thank-you letters, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls promptly and meeting with a past client for coffee can be thought of as marketing. By treating these people well and serving their needs, we turn them into raving fans who will continue to stay in our backyard (remain our happy lifetime customers) AND refer others to us who will do the same.

One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make is jumping too soon into the mindset and process of selling. They see everyone as a potential customer and waste precious time, energy and money on trying to "sell" them.

Marketing, from the core basics to the most complex activities, is simply about attracting the RIGHT KIND of customers -- those who want what you have to sell. Good marketing brings you people who are curious and ready to learn more about and are more likely to buy your products or services. Only when you have their attention, and know that they have an interest in, need for or stake in what you have to offer can you begin the process of enrolling them into your community of customers.

Imagine you're a single person looking for a mate. Would you date everyone you met without learning more about them? You might be looking for someone who shares your faith. Perhaps you want somebody who loves kids and even has a family already. Maybe you're an avid amateur athlete who hikes every weekend. You may be a passionate music lover. Would you spend your precious time with a tone deaf atheist couch potato who hates kids and is allergic to your beloved family pet? Probably not!

Whenever I meet one of those sweet Mary Kay ladies, and ask them what kind of customers they're looking for, the usual reply is, "Oh, anybody with skin." (!) We've all encountered that business owner who sees every warm blooded human as a potential customer and shoves their card in our hand without even bothering to talk to us. Telemarketing and cold calling stem from the same perspective. What's it like to be on the receiving end of this kind of attention? Is that how you want people to feel about your business -- and YOU?

PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR): Actions that promote goodwill between a company or individual and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.

PR activities are about helping you get and stay visible in the pubic eye. Its one component of a marketing strategy that isn't aimed at a specific market, but it will help you attract more of "your" people. Press releases and media interviews (to name just two of many strategies) are used to spotlight events such as contests, charitable sponsorships or donations and volunteer activities in which you and your business are involved. If you want your company to be known for certain ideals or beliefs, if you stand for or support an important issue or cause and you want to get connected with others who believe as you do AND doing so would boost the visibility of your business, engaging in publicity-generating activities is quite useful.

Once you can clarify what makes you and your business stand out from the rest, and get really specific about what makes someone YOUR ideal customer, you're well on your way to attracting those potential lifetime fans who are more likely to be ready to buy from YOU.