Marketing is not advertising – it is a relationship.

About 25 years ago, when I was still working in the field of selling advertising space for print media, I spoke with the head of marketing of what was then a very successful company, a representative of a world-famous high-end brand. I tried to convince him to place at least some kind of advertisement. His answer was short and clear: “We don’t need advertising.”

A few years later, they lost the representation. Naturally, due to poorer results. The well-known brand then opened its own subsidiary in Slovenia.

Arrogance and belief in one’s own brand – the idea that marketing is not necessary – have never produced long-term results. At that time, it must be admitted, there were far fewer marketing channels. There was print, television, radio. Much more depended on sales and the salesperson themselves – their energy, knowledge, and relationship with the customer.

Today, this art has largely been lost. Most customers make their decision in their heads beforehand – based on marketing activities, feelings, communication. Or at least they decide where they will go to take a look. Whether it is a brand or a shopping centre. Today’s customer knows what they expect – and they quickly sense where they will not get it.

Shopping centres are not walls – they are people

There are truly many shopping centres today. More and more of them – from large to small. Yet all too often, stores within centres shift the responsibility for marketing entirely onto the centre management. The fact is that without cooperation, this does not work. This way of shifting responsibility, of passivity, is precisely why classic shopping centres are disappearing and transforming into experiential shopping destinations. What is the difference?

Every sales assistant, every salesperson, every store, and the marketing of the shopping destination should breathe as one. Listen to each other. Cooperate. Complement one another. Unfortunately, there is far too little of this. And then there is no need to wonder why footfall is declining.

When owners look only at Excel, customers leave

There is another truth – in the vast majority of cases, shopping centre owners are corporations or financial investors. And let’s be honest: marketing often interests them only through the plus or minus at the end of the year. How that result is achieved does not interest them much.

I have seen many such stories. And I dare say that those centres are far more successful where the owners are also the custodians of the story, the space, and the marketing. Where it is understood that without relationships, there are no numbers – not the other way around.

An example we all know (but don’t talk about)

One such example is an outlet destination in Croatia, right next to the Slovenian border, on the way to Austria. An excellent location. Huge traffic of people passing by. Visibility from the motorway. An exit practically right next to it. In summer, crowds of tourists on their way to the sea; throughout the year, many expatriates, not to mention the local population within a 50–100 kilometre radius. Prices were affordable, and there were many people.

Today? Prices are still affordable, but the offer is shrinking. Half of the stores are closed.

The reason? No marketing. No communication. No sales promotions. No loyalty programme. No desire to connect with customers, to inform them, to develop a relationship.

About 70 kilometres away, a new centre has grown. And it works very well. Guess why.

This is not an exception. It is a pattern. This is not only the story of that outlet centre. And it is not only the story of the company from the beginning of the article. This is an all too common reality today.

Competition is increasing. Pressures are stronger. Customers are bombarded with information, offers, and stimuli. Whether we talk about shopping, tourist, or sports destinations. Or individual stores. In all cases, the same applies:

Communication + kindness + effort + understanding the guest = relationship

Big players can afford many things financially. But they too were once small. And many small ones live very well – without dreams of 50 locations, but with a clear story, awareness of the importance of personalisation, respect for the customer, and constant communication.

Not long ago, my friend William Odwarka, an expert in the F&B field whom we hosted in the Smart Perspectives column, reflected on this as well. His view only confirms the same logic – regardless of the industry. You can read the article here.

Conclusion: the difference is not in the budget, but in connectedness

The key point that companies (especially in the B2C segment) are still too often insufficiently aware of is simple: results do not come from campaigns, but from connectedness.

From the shared breathing of the entire organisation or destination. From every employee to marketing and management. From the relationship with the space to the relationship with people.

And it is precisely this connectedness – or its absence – that ultimately makes the difference. Not only in footfall, but in who will still exist in a few years – and who will become just another story we use as an example.