But, that sale doesn’t get made unless there’s a little marketing going on.

When people ask what business you are in, what do you tell them? You may have an elevator speech that you have committed to memory for just that opportunity? "We create value for organizations who want to improve their bottom line, yada yada…"

But, what does your company do? 

You don’t make widgets. You market widgets. You don’t provide business services. You market those services. You don’t mend shoes. You market shoe-mending services. Think Starbucks. They don't sell coffee, they market it. You are a marketing firm.

Now I understand that I view the world through marketing lenses—yes. And you might say, "If we don’t make those widgets, there is nothing to market." I say, You’re not making them for too long, if you don’t market them. Your organization is a marketing organization. If you don’t realize this, you’re not a very good marketer. (That’s OK— there are people that can help you.)

Now that you’ve totally bought into this theory (aka fact), you need to start acting a bit more like a marketing organization. Your decisions should be driven by your customers and your prospects—who they are, what they need, what their mindset is. In short, you need to be a better marketer. Start here:

• Why do people choose your widget over your competitors'? Why don't they?
• What fears do they have?
• What problems do you solve?
• Where in the decision making process should your message reach them? 

If you spend most of your time worried about operations, you won’t have any customers to worry about. But, spend your time thinking about marketing and you’ll have plenty of operational issues to solve in your fast-growing company.