Marketing

marketing

What is marketing? There are few words for the process of making an impact on customers, as important as this one is to any business: ‘marketing’. Let’s start with a quick definition first and think about how that helps you in everyday life as well as your professional work.

What is marketing?

Marketing (also known as advertising) is the process of creating awareness about a product or service to a large number of potential consumers through promotion efforts such as advertising, public relations, publicity, direct mail, sales promotion, etc. It consists of three elements or parts: production, consumption, and distribution.

The final goal of all marketing strategies, including those that we cover on our blog here at B2B2C.com is to generate new leads and/or retain existing ones. Marketing means different things for each company – some companies have more than one, others one or two. For example, an ad campaign for a car manufacturing company will be distinct from the same program for another consumer goods manufacturer.

While there is no universal answer as to what marketing is or should be, it generally refers to the art and science of drawing people into your product or service through communication. Marketing, then, refers not only to the actual selling of products, but also includes all the activities involved in the creation of products, which can include design, advertisements, promotions, pricing, logistics, market research and many other parts of the overall selling process. In short, marketing encompasses every aspect of running your business. You would argue that it’s a broader scope than just sales – because many of us have always thought of marketing as only the sale side of a firm. However, this isn’t so: marketing can also include customer acquisition, retention, loyalty, advocacy, etc. When done correctly, there is a very high probability to see these actions yielding immediate results. To help you understand better what exactly marketing is, let’s begin by defining what marketing is.

As part of my master’s degree programme. I also have been exposed to several marketing courses, and most importantly, had a chance to attend various international conferences related to marketing. From my own experience, when using my brain to find solutions is something we do throughout our days, sometimes it seems impossible. This is where our brains and imagination do wonder. But why imagine a solution if you already have a problem? If you’re asking me, then the reason is that your mind isn’t fully trained enough to solve problems. And this has nothing at all to do with our brain and it has everything to do with education.

Education does teach you how to search for solutions, but knowledge is also really important. We need to keep learning to keep up and stay relevant. Therefore, we need to make sure our minds are constantly developing and growing, as that helps us to know how to use the tools available to us, like digital technology, language, thinking, creativity, social networks, etc. I think that one of the main goals I have while studying Marketing was to develop my analytical skills, and I think they have actually improved significantly in recent years. Although being able to work out a strategy or a way of working out marketing in order to get results is always challenging, the process itself is far less complicated than it may seem.

One good piece of advice I had heard a couple of times before, was simply to listen to people and try not to ask questions. Another great piece of advice I had read was to start doing what you actually are doing, and stop trying to impress other people. That’s not meant to sound too serious, but just for your information’s sake. Now, I’m talking about real-life examples, because otherwise you’re going to feel guilty in the end. So, let’s try and imagine a situation where you need to create a plan to increase brand awareness. How will you manage that? Let’s find out! Well, if you want to create effective campaigns to drive more people into buying something – for instance, a perfume, a cereal, a toy, or maybe even something else – you should first consider what kinds of people your target audience is.

People who come to your website are likely to have certain characteristics that will influence their decision to buy what you’re selling. Some key demographic features to look out for include age, gender, income (income gap), ethnicity, occupation, etc. An ideal customer profile should take into account every single person’s data so they are able to easily find the desired product at your store or website.

Once you have identified and analysed the characteristics, it’s time to identify who your competitors are. Who are they? Do they serve a similar type of clientele? Or is it a completely different demographic? Understanding and analysing your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses could be a game changer for your future campaigns. Next step, you can now proceed and learn how to position your brand in front of potential customers. Why is positioning important? Why should you spend effort to achieve good positioning? Positioning is the first stage in building a brand image, so your online presence plays a major role in its success.

Your brand identity, i.e., visual presentation, voice, tone of voice, logo, tagline, etc., shows off your values, beliefs and expectations that customers have. On top of that, since most of today’s brands are made up of multiple product and service categories, identifying these categories makes it easier to decide on a branding approach. A clear brand identity can be seen as the basis of your entire marketing strategy, in more ways than one. After having decided where and how to present your brand, you need to implement your campaign strategy to reach your target audience.

The best way to go about this is to follow a comprehensive planning process. First, you have to figure out the purpose of your campaign. Once you have figured it out, you need to define how you will distribute your message and create an audience/customer base. Then, you need to determine the channels you use to spread your messages and who should receive them.

Finally, you need to decide whether you want to focus on generating sales or brand awareness. All of this should be carefully planned out. The following points will help you clarify and improve your marketing plan:

1) Identify gaps between your current state and long term plans (i.e., the growth plan). Where is the difference between where you currently are and where you dream to be? Is there a big gap? Are your resources and capabilities adequate for achieving your dreams? Are your assets and competencies sufficient for meeting or exceeding your targeted goals? These kinds of inquiries can help you identify where you need to invest energy and attention to move further along your journey. Gaps between your marketing objectives and your present reality can often point to opportunities.

2) Evaluate whether your objective matches the budget allocated. Is your projected financial outcome realistic? Is the proposed action needed to meet the objectives? Does the plan allow room for flexibility and experimentation? Will you be able to meet your goals in a timely manner?

3) Decide on the right medium to communicate with your desired audience (i.e., radio, TV, Internet). Each medium has pros and cons, but it depends on the nature of your content and its intended audience.

4) Determine the appropriate channel(s) for reaching your target. With media comes costs. Which medium is most cost effective?

5) Outline the required resources and investments required to reach your targets. Make sure you allocate enough money towards setting up and maintaining the desired medium and channel(s).

6) Analyse your performance, comparing your results against your original vision. How much progress have you been making? What needs to be changed?

7) Plan for unexpected events. Set aside a reserve fund for unexpected challenges (e.g., a contingency expense if a disaster strikes during your outreach plan).

8) Assess the effectiveness of the plan. Keep track of your progress and compare the results against your initial expectations.

9) Revise your plan based on feedback received. What are the areas that need improvement?

10) Create a road map and set goals to guide the execution of the campaign.

11) Refine the plan when necessary.

12) Perform periodic review of the plan. Remember, mistakes are an inevitable part of the process.

13) Monitor progress periodically.

14) Check on your communications.

15) Conduct continuous evaluation of performance to assess performance effectiveness. 16) Ensure regular reporting.

17) Stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies.

18) Test strategies and experiment across alternatives.

19) Be flexible.

20) Look ahead.

21) Adjust course based on feedback.

22) Review your plan regularly to ensure consistency with new developments.

23) Continue to develop your business model – e.g., add new products, services, markets, etc.

24) Communicate frequently, as too static can result in stagnation.

25) Maintain open lines of communication with employees, as keeping the workforce engaged is essential to staying relevant.

26) Collaborate with experts who can provide insights on the latest industry developments.

27) Engage in continuous testing to test ideas and approaches.

28) Research alternative ways of executing tasks, so that you don’t waste time and your investment.

29) Use simple language.

30) Consider hiring outside consultants.

31) Always remember, it’s always worth it to continue improving.

32) Regularly evaluate effectiveness.

33) Don’t panic, you can always get back up.

34) Focus on the ultimate benefits rather than the shortest-term gains.

35) Never forget to celebrate your successes together.

36) Get creative with your initiatives: for example, if you have a unique way of communicating with potential customers, use it, and promote it.

37) Work on finding hidden opportunities.

Comments

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