e Chapter 4 e Putting Marketing in Motion The magic of stirring the pot t is universal law that everything exists either in a state of circulation or congestion. Things are either in motion or stillness, in action or inaction, in fluctuation or stagnation. The air in your body, the money in your bank account, your openness to new ideas--everything is either flowing or it's not. When things aren't moving, there's usually trouble. Lack of oxygen, money, and new ideas could no doubt be detrimental, even fatal. Your business is no different. It's either flowing and advancing or it's still, stuck, and Marketing is the mover. regressing. It's either making good things hap- It's what keeps your pen or it's brewing trouble. business circulating. Stop Marketing is the mover. It's what keeps actively marketing and your business circulating. Stop actively mar- you'll reach the perils of keting and you'll reach the perils of conges- congestion fast. tion fast. No new business. No recurring business. No referring business. You'll be- come like the still waters of the bayou--festered by swarms of mosquitoes ready to take whatever life you have out of you. Take something as simple as cream in a jar. If it just sits there, it remains cream. Let it sit too long, it becomes spoiled cream. But give it a little shake for a few minutes, and you'll have rich, tasty butter ready for spreading on your breakfast toast. The bottom line is that nothing happens until there is motion, and that magical, life-giving motion in marketing is what I call "stirring the pot." Of course I am a Cajun from Louisiana, and we Cajuns tend to put everything in terms of food. Still, in all my years of marketing, I have yet to find anything that so perfectly and practically captures the essence of marketing. When you actively market, you get circulation. When you don't, you get congestion. It's just that simple. e 61 I