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Idealist and philosopher Confucius was born on September 28, 551B.C. Confucius never ran a business or pitched a client. In fact,Confucius touted a hard-line negative perspective aboutprofit-seeking activities and believed that business, if it existedat all, should be an ethical economic system serving the well-beingof all people. He felt business should demand enduring, deep-rootedrelationships, far beyond any single sales transaction.
B2B entrepreneurs may not all agree on a "goldstandard" for ethics and marketing, but we can infuse ourbusinesses with accountability, transparency, trust and meaningfulcustomer conversations. In honor of Confucius, here are somethoughtful meditation tools for your B2B marketing toolbox:
For inspiration and insight, read Marketing the Professional Services Firm byLaura Mazur and Laurie Young. Also of note: Powerful Proposals by David Pugh and TerryBacon. It's featured on the American ManagementAssociation's "2005 Business Reading List."
Subscribe to the Business to Business Marketingnewsletter.
Plan to attend The Direct Marketing Association's B-to-BMarketing Conference, scheduled for Sept. 13-15 in Tucson, Arizona.Visit www.the-dma.org/conferences/btob.shtml toregister.
Kirsten Osolind is CEO and founder of re:inventioninc., a Chicago-based marketing consulting company.
