Marketplaces don't stand still, change is forced by a variety of factors and it is how a business responds to these pressures that determines whether it succeeds and how profitable future trading will be.

It is a truth we all know but how many know if their marketing is better than their competitors? You price your product extremely keenly and it gives nothing on quality or spec. Your product sells but your delivery loses you the lifetime value of that buyer. Or the service, product and price were great but the after sales backup contact broke the chain and the customer walked.

Getting 'the buying experience' right will bring the customer back even in the face of cheaper prices. That buying experience is delivered by everybody in your organisation. Every one of your people is a marketer for your company. They hold your reputation and that is your Brand, the strongest weapon against competitors there is.

When your competitor sits down at his firms sales conference he will be talking about winning over your customers, taking your business, reducing your share of the market. It's a job that for many firms is all too easy.

From the top to the bottom the attributes of your brand need to be on everybody's lips. As a common understanding and a value to those with whom your business trades. One too many clever strap lines are hiding hollow mission statements. Really they fool nobody. Particularly those who work in the business. And these are the people who talk to your future bottom line.