Marketing is usually perceived as an add-on to B2B companies. In reality, it should form the core. Marketing is not just the window-dressing of your company. It's the core function of staying in touch with your market. When it functions like this, marketing not only pushes information about you, it sets the stage where it can pull clients towards you. That is, on the one hand, a solid marketing approach allows B2B companies to present themselves attractively. And, on the other hand, marketing attracts the right kind of customers. The core competency for both of these approaches is branding. Branding positions your company in its market. It sets the stage for your marketing by establishing your "speaking position" in the market. Without this standing, your messages, both push and pull, will not make sense.