Why follow somebody else's rules? It's time for a new idea, no?

The first key precept

Ideas are the heart of any business.

What's the idea at the foundation of your company? How do you plan to compete? What makes you and your products or services different? What makes them better?

How's this for a thought starter: If you were inventing your company today, what would you do?

Then why aren't you doing it?
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The second key precept

There is absolutely no distinction between the business and its marketing.

The core of the company is the core of its marketing. And vice versa. Period. Okay, well, not period. The idea behind your product or service ought to be strong enough that people will talk about it. Which is to say, that when confronted with the problem your product or service purports to solve, people who know about you will talk about you. This oughta be happening in both directions: On the one hand, when your potential customers start to complain to her friends about your category (Hey, my hair dresser does a lousy job. Look at my hair!), the friend will rave about how good a hair dresser you are and send the prospect your way. On the other hand, if you're exceptional enough, someone might be motivated to become a champion for your cause because she simply believes in what you're doing and will start talking about you to people because, well, just because.

The third key precept

"Best practices" are for losers.

Best practices means you're following somebody else's rules. Who gets to make the rules? Isn't it generally the guy who invents the game? More to the point, by playing somebody else's game, and following his rules, aren't you really conforming to those rules? And if you're conforming, by definition, you ain't different. You certainly aren't leading anything. What you need is a good idea.

The fourth key precept

Everything communicates.

You can't control what people think. You can, however, control what you communicate. If you're consistent in everything you do, and if everything about your company is designed and implemented with that core idea in mind, then there's a much higher likelihood that what you want to say to potential customers will actually be heard by them.

If you would call your company "friendly," then, by golly, make sure everything communicates "friendly." Don't hire surly people. Send people home who are having a bad day (or at least hide them from customers until their mood improves). Don't decorate your showroom with marble and granite and architectural fixtures that say you have a lot of money or spent a lot of money, when you really mean to communicate the feel of a favorite aunt's living room.