I am a consultant. And I am here. In the last in this series of articles for Boating Business Iwant to knock down some marketing myths and build up a case for communications practicality. It might even help you.

Marketing is an over used and much abused word. It is misinterpreted, hijacked as a populist metaphor for selling, or thought of as a devious means of portraying grey as white.

Perhaps something to think about when the monthly tissue of conjecture is being prepared for the bank manager? Such widespread confusion makes it hardly surprising that marine industry companies can fail to recognise how critical it is to success.

Real marketing puts customers at the centre of all your business activities. It gives them what they want. It makes things better, or easier, or more cost effective than the alternatives available to them.

Marketing equates to planning, product development, pricing, placement and then promotion.

It is not a function, rather it is a way of doing business. It needs to be part of everyone's job description, from the receptionist to the chief executive. It has to involve customers at every stage.

And it should be first in the timescale of events.

Promotion comes much later. It is the last step in the marketing process, not the first. So be sure not to put stern ahead of bow when you want to move forward.

Do not rush into advertising, mail shots, press releases or any other promotional activity before the marketing basics are in place. Proficient marketing ensures that you can provide customers with what they want, in the way they want it, at a price they regard as affordable, and in the comfort that they can rely on your after-market support.

It means spending time with customers, constantly monitoring competitors and developing feedback procedures to turn this information into marketplace intelligence. Not more marketing, but better marketing.

Head start Take comfort - probably, you have a head start. A recent survey among UK company directors with customer relations responsibilities showed that while 70% are investing actively in customer-focused marketing schemes, only one in 25 monitors and measures the effects.

They don't know if they are getting it right or wrong.

Smarter operators know that exceeding customer expectations is guaranteed to enhance business performance and that the quickest way to lose out is to over-promise or fail to deliver.

Customer centred When you have your customer centred marketing plan in place, the next important step is to tell the world about what it offers - and a whole new array of skills are required.

Much of marketing is sheer hard work and simple common sense. The communications process, however, demands additional competence, just as you would expect to receive from a fee-earning accountant or lawyer. It is that specialist. It is that important.

Looking out from within an organisation is one of the most difficult tasks faced by proprietors and managers. Skilled, external communications help can open up entirely new vistas.

One simple, yet pivotal, example is the difference between features and benefits.

Most companies are proud of the features of their products or service and want to talk about them in great detail.

Trouble is that consumers are none too interested in features.

They want to know about the benefits, about the advantages. So professional communicators talk about the joys of it being easier, or more comfortable, or faster - or whatever. How it is achieved is of secondary importance to end-users.

Don't talk about the company, talk about the customer. Not "we are delighted to", rather "you will be delighted with".

Your communications advisers will insist that the message and its supporting imagery are consistent, no matter what the promotional technique being applied.

The way in which content is developed for advertising, literature and press materials should be very different, but the underlying impression given must remain the same. In that way, your corporate reputation remains intact. The marketplace starts to trust in the continuity and integrity of your brand.

In this same connection, professionals will emphasise quality.

So leave the pictures to real photographers, the words to trained copywriters, the graphics to experienced artists.

Stick to what you know best. Bring in the specialists.

At first sight, it costs more, yet in the long run it could revolutionise your business.

I'm a consultant: I would say that, wouldn't I?

Thankfully, there is a mountain of evidence to back me up. Nowadays, the greater part of the value of most major businesses is represented by intangible assets, not buildings, plant and machinery, or work in progress.

The business worth relies more heavily than ever on two of those less tangible assets - brands and customer relations.