Simple questions call for simple answers, right? Hardly!
Take for example a question every business entrepreneur
asks themselves at one point: What is marketing? If you were to
ask 1,000 marketing professionals, you would probably get as many different
answers. The question is comparable to asking someone, “What is love?”
It is difficult to define, amazing when it is right, and so easy to get
it wrong.
Marketing, like love, is a complicated subject that
causes confusion and can be very intimidating.
An Institutional Definition
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing
as: an organizational function and a set of processes
for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for
managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization
and its stakeholders.
Pretty dry, institutional stuff, eh? They're on right track
though when you boil down their definition.
To me, marketing is about communicating
and relationships. Without those two important elements you
will not be in business very long.
Many outstanding business ideas have been tossed on the
trash heap because it was believed that the strength of their product
or service offering is all the marketing that was needed. Without commun-icating
and building relationships, very few product offerings are ever good enough
to build a solid business. It takes much more.
A Better Definition
Here is a much simpler definition:
Marketing is any contact made by any member of your company
with any member of the public.
This definition is simpler, but much broader in attitude.
It basically focuses on how you relate to people and how they perceive
you.
Think of it this way;
your business success is the
accrued total of how much you know (your product or service), how many
people know you (your relationships), and the trust they have in you (your
reputation). All three of these parts of the equation are rooted
in the act of communicating with your clients and prospects. Taken a step
further, every communication activity you engage in with them is marketing.
So Why Is Marketing So Complicated?
Marketing often seems more complicated and intimidating
than it needs to be. One of the main causes of this is the vast number
of tactics and methods that you can select to market products and services.
Consider this partial list of tactics that are available:
direct mail, telemarketing, brochures, signs, sampling, internet, email,
yellow pages, newspaper ads, flyers, TV, radio, publicity, premiums, giveaways,
posters, post cards, or coupons. Which do you choose?
All of these tactics are proven to have worked for many
different businesses. Yet, selecting the right one to deliver your marketing
message can be a daunting task. Each one of these tactics requires
you to risk two resources that
are always in short supply - your time and your money.
To make the choice more difficult, you hear horror stories
from fellow business owners who spent thousands of dollars on some of
these tactics that did not generate any response or increase profits.
Such stories make you hesitate and cause you to think that you should
avoid going down the same path. Marketing your business comes with all
kinds of risky choices that can scare the pants off of you.
Where do you start, how should you market and what should
you do to be successful?
Think Fundamentals First
When a challenge stonewalls you it’s always a good idea
to take a step back and approach it from a new angle. It is the same with
marketing your business. One approach is to think of the fundamental reason
people purchase your product or service over all the other options they
have.
Why should they choose you? Let’s return to our earlier
equation: your product or service, plus your relationships, plus your
reputation equal your business success.
At first glance, it appears that the answer is focused
on you and your actions. The fundamental truth is that the only thing
you can control of these three elements is your product or service.
The relationship and reputation are the result of the client’s experiences
with you. It is the client who determines the value of those critical
elements. The client possess the
power to enter into the relationship with you and also establishes
the quality of your reputation. Their perception is the reality.
This important aspect of your business success plays out
in the client’s mind. This is where the purchase decisions are made and
where your future is controlled. It is up to you to match your offer
to their wants, needs, and desires. You need to clearly identify the
reasons they buy from you. Once you know this, you then focus all your
marketing efforts on those reasons and communicate it to them consistently
and frequently.
You must complete this statement: “My clients purchase
from me because _____________.”
Keeping It Simple
The simple insight you need to understand is that your
marketing is not about you. It is not about your business. It is not about
your product or your service. It is about the customer; their needs, their
desires, and their expectations.
To make marketing less complicated, remember this insight.
Too often marketing becomes an exercise in ego for those producing
it (think Super Bowl commercials). The message is so centered on being
clever or the greatness of the product that it does not address the reasons
the client or prospect should purchase it to improve their condition.
Keep your
marketing focused on the client’s needs. If you remember this one
fundamental insight your marketing efforts will always be on target, your
client will maintain a profitable relationship with you, and you won’t
be intimidated by marketing again.
