Marketing is about relationships.

Say it with me: Marketing is about relationships.

Now say it out loud:

MARKETING IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

Good.

Remember that.

Any marketing campaign that does not take relationships into consideration are like driving down the interstate, going 70 or faster, and not having a steering wheel.

You might get somewhere fast, but it's not going to last, and the result can be deadly.

One of the emails I get weekly is from Dr Tony Alessandra. Here's an excerpt from the one I got today. Visit his website if you want more information.

Preferred Business Situations for Each Style

For maximum workplace efficiency, as well as a happy workforce, it's the managers job to put people in a position to succeed. By understanding the comfort level that certain people have in different situations, you'll be far more likely to achieve your goals.

RELATERS
Indirect and Open

Preferred business situations of the Relater include:

- Performing the same kinds of duties day after day (no matter the importance of the type of work involved)

- Working cooperatively with others to achieve common results

- Safe, risk-free environments

- Stable, steady, low-key environment which has a minimum of changes

- Knowing each step toward completing their duties within a defined framework of time and resources

- Making decisions by group consensus or other accepted practices rather than only by themselves

- Feeling like an appreciated, contributing member of the work group

THINKERS
Indirect and Guarded

Preferred business situations for the Thinker include:

- Colleagues and superiors who do not criticize work or ideas, especially in public

- Situations where they can set the quality control standards and check to see if they are properly implemented

- Working with complete information systems, or being empowered to formulate their own methods

- Superiors who value correctness and the Thinker's key role in the organization

- Organized and process-oriented workplaces with little emphasis on socializing

SOCIALIZERS
Direct and Open

Preferred business situations for Socializers include:

- Likes to work interactively with others

- Needs personal feedback and discussion to get, or stay, on course

- Likes to mingle with all levels of associates and calls them by their first names

- Enjoys compliments about themselves and their accomplishments

- Seeks stimulating environments that are friendly and favorable

- Motivated to work toward known, specific, quickly attainable incentives or external motivators (dislikes pursuits which drag out over long time periods)

- Open to verbal or demonstrated guidance for transferring ideas into action

- Likes to start projects, but prefers to let others handle the follow-through and detail work

DIRECTORS
Direct and Guarded

The preferred business situations for Directors:

- Calling the shots and telling others what to do

- Challenging workloads to fuel their energy levels

- Personally overseeing, or at least knowing about, their employees' or co-workers' business activities

- Saying what's on their minds without being concerned about hurting anybody's feelings

- Taking risks and being involved in facilitating changes

- Interpreting the rules and answering to themselves alone

- Interested in the answers to "what" questions

- Seeing a logical road toward advancement of achieving goals