When it comes to marketing within any organisation it’s traditionally been seen as a bit of a luxury. When things go wrong it’s often the first budget to be cut or department to be culled. It’s a nice to have but some believe it doesn’t always contribute to the bottom line. Other areas like operations and traditionally sales are seen as more fundamental contributors to a business. In recent years however the trend is changing. Marketing has established itself as a core function in a business. An essential department which becomes more important in tougher times and permeates a whole business.

If you work in retail you more than likely have heard of Ron Johnson. He is the man who lead the development and launch of the most successful retail stores we know of… That’s right! The Apple stores. Apple is credited with being the most profitable stores in the world with turnover per square foot of $5,600 (that’s square-foot, not square metre… even more impressive) and an average footfall of over 20,000 people per week.