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Key #6 of 10 to Inspiring Action: 10 Keys to the Future of Marketing. Download our summary poster of the 10 Keys here.

One of my clients once told me about The Wall.

“The Wall” is what she called it.

“I’m squeezing my brain, my team, my budget and every hour of the day to build this thing, while all around us there are new services gaining market share with little or no advertising.

“My product is dated and it shows – yet I’m in my marketing silo and don’t have the power to change it.

“I know total marketing success requires a product that does a better job of selling itself, but what do I do without the power and the tools to make that happen?”

I told her that she wasn’t the only marketer facing The Wall. Yesterday, the best marketer with the deepest pockets won. Today, everyone is a click away from customer comments and reviews. That means the best customer experience wins.

Fortunately for my client and others like her, customer experience isn’t just about function. It’s not even primarily about function. It’s more about emotion and meaning. Which means that marketing is as much a part of a winning product as the product itself is.

My new client and I determined to work with our teams to do two things:

1) We would determine the emotional meaning of her brand.
2) We would use every lever, every touchpoint, to enhance that meaning.

We remade the aspects of customer experience that she could influence. And then we measured the results.

Based on those results, my client quickly developed the reputation of a “fixer” in her company. She was given responsibility for overseeing the website – effectively the core delivery of the product – in addition to marketing. Extending our insight about the emotional meaning of the brand deep into the customer journey yielded still greater incremental results.

Today, my client can work just about anywhere. Fortunately for us, she’s extremely happy and highly valued right where she is.