Marketing is everywhere in your company.

From the consumer's perspective, marketing is constant.

You're a Customer Service Representative and don't think you have a hand in Marketing?

You are the unsung heroes of the company. The first responders in any time of customer need.

You solve problems. You have difficult conversations. You take an unfair amount of abuse from people who should know better.

You especially are part of your company's marketing team whether you know it or not. Why? One of the most critical aspects of marketing is brand reputation. You know what's the fastest way to make or break (and especially break) your brand reputation? Poor customer service.

"But everyone talks about how poor customer service is. Everyone's doing it. People expect it by now." Dangerous words. Comcast can afford to have legends told of their customer service from hell. They're just about a monopoly. Your company can't - people will go elsewhere. And even if "people expect poor customer service":

1. no one ever wants poor customer service. Not in the history of this or any other universe.

2. when they get poor customer service, expected or not, they will talk about it to all of their friends and family, shaming your name across the town square

3. their expecting poor service actually gives you a golden opportunity to go above and beyond their expectations - "decent" just became "wow! painless! that was great!"

Here's how you're connected to the marketing team:

• Yelp lives! If a customer has a bad experience with your support, guess who is going to immediately notice that 1-star review that just plagued Yelp, Google, and every other rating site? That's right, your Marketing team. Guess who is going to investigate that review and take any action needed to make it better? Guess whose time will be impacted? Marketing, marketing, marketing.

• The onus is on you. All Marketing has to do is prepare the materials and make sure they reach the right eyeballs. It is you who are on the hook to back up everything your marketing team says. How does that promotion work again? Can we make an exception in this case? I downloaded that app you talked about and it's not working. What gives? You need to have all the answers. It's not a bad idea to keep close contact with your marketing team to stay on top of these. Staying on top of them = happier customers for you = shorter call times for you = Yelp shoutouts for you.

• Drowning vs. not drowning. Your marketing team is going to be releasing a lot of messaging about new specials. They will release frequent communications. If they aren’t familiar with your schedule, they might release something important at a moment when you’re already slammed. Cue the chaos, stress, and sky falling. On the other hand, say you've been in contact with Marketing beforehand. They keep your workflow in mind when they schedule blog posts, social media posts, newsletter releases, and all the other million communications. They become a great ally in keeping your team happy with a reasonable workload.

Don't let all the bells and whistles mask the reality. Marketing is really just getting people to think well of your company, and in turn interact more with you. As a customer service hero/martyr, you have a unique opportunity to alter that equation. You are, after all, the most direct helper, confidant, servant, communicator with your customers. Your role is beyond crucial.

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Marketing is everywhere. Coming up: the ones who pull strings and dangle carrots.