You know when marketing efforts fail? When everyone else in the organization thinks it is not their job, problem or responsibility. “I’m not in marketing; I’m a (fill in a job function here.)” No such thing, my friend.

Everyone and everything is marketing. Whether it’s your job, because you choose to embrace it, or by accident. But no one exists in a bubble. Try to avoid it all you want; you cannot help but market.

Every time employees interact with a customer, vendor or co-worker, they are transmitting a communication that reflects on your organization. That’s marketing. Your policies and procedures manual? That’s marketing. How your phone is answered, how you interview potential job candidates and how you treat a vendor who did not have the winning bid — all marketing.

The reality is that there is not one person in your organization who is not a marketer by default. Whether you want them to be or not. Now do you see why it’s so critical that internal communications be a vital part of your marketing efforts?

You have a very simple choice. Either make the commitment to invest some time and resources to clearly communicate with each and every employee so they know your company’s promise or gamble that they’ll come up with it on their own. It never ceases to amaze me how executives can spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to tell the world about their company but pinch pennies when it comes to educating their own employees. And then they wonder why their market share doesn’t move.

Could it be that the promise they’re making isn’t the same one their employees are keeping?

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and the author of “99.3 Random Acts of Marketing.” He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com.