Ring Ring
You have to have some sort of phone system. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn't have to be wired to everyone’s smartphone, but you need phones.
Unless staff will be sitting on the ground, furniture is probably a good idea. It doesn’t have to be glass desks and Aeron chairs but you do need something to keep your stuff and your people off the floor.
Did You Get My Email?
You don’t need to get everyone a MacBook and Hermann Miller chairs but you need something that resembles computing devices to get the job done and apparently this Internet thing is quite the craze so you have costs involved in that service.
And there's also salaries, perhaps benefits, training, supplies, utilities, office space, running water, plumbing and other operational items.
Now What?
Assuming you have a great product or service and a business plan, you now have office space and people. But unless your company has self ringing phones, letting people know what you do is imperative to your success.
Marketing is more than advertising. It is how you cement relationships, build referrals and create long-term customers. It is in everything you do and is as essential as keeping the lights on.
Tighten Too Tight
Many have been through tight times and have had to look at ways to cut expenses. All too often the marketing budget is the first to see the knife. The perception is that it is money not yet spent - unlike phones, salaries, computers and furniture.
Imagine how your company would change if you didn't view marketing as a luxury, a channel or a department.
Kneale Mann
image credit: chadestes
original post: Aug 2010
