Marketing may be second-nature in large companies, but smaller firms often have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The 'marketing director' title is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or given as an afterthought to the sales manager (who thinks that marketing is just another way of spelling s-a-l-e-s).

Call it branding. Call it marketing. Call it whatever you want. But it has the singular objective of motivating the right customer to want to do business with a particular company or to buy a particular product or service. In this document, John Graham lays to rest some common misconceptions on the role of marketing.