Exposed! Marketing and Business Promotion
The Truth At Last!
Our thanks go to Gillian Woodland of Duckwood Partners for her insight into business marketing. Marketing is a topic close to the heart of every entrepreneur and is often considered to be either a mystical topic or something beyond the financial capability of small businesses.
Marketing worries me. I feel I should do it, but what exactly is it and what could it do for me?
Don't worry! Marketing is often seen as being a bit scary, not to mention expensive. So many business, large and small, think they can't afford any marketing. Understanding what it is and how you can make it work for you is essential to your business as well as your state of mind.
Briefly, 'marketing' is all those activities which inform the right people of your products and services, and cause them to buy from you over and over again because they are delighted customers.
Marketing is central to all departments in a business and is a major part of the business plan. It helps the sales force to sell, employees to feel good about the company, and can be responsible for the major success or otherwise of a business.
Marketing provides the image and branding of the company for ease of identification by the public. Think of all those brands you love. Why do they spring to mind?
...And the difference between marketing and business promotion is ..?
Have you heard the expression 'who, what, where and when'? The answers to these will help you to plan your marketing. Apply them to your business:
Who do you want to sell to – identify your potential customers.
What do you want to sell – describe your products and services.
Where do you want to sell – identify your target markets.
When is the best time to sell – think about the implications of the timing.
These need to be identified to make a good, robust plan.
Then the promotional activities can be selected which will work towards your success. These range from networking, producing flyer and regular newsletters, to branding, PR, and your own events and product launches.
These make up the marketing mix and each business has it's own blend.
So 'marketing' is the plan and your overall strategy, and 'business promotion' is the specific activities involved in achieving this plan.
Isn't 'Marketing' just expensive advertising?
Yes, of course it can be expensive. But a lot depends on your attitude and on the calibre of your marketing people, whether it's a specialist company or an internal department.
You need to believe that marketing is a great investment in your business, but also that you expect a return on that investment.
Advertising doesn't suit all businesses and is frequently a waste of time and money. If you have a product which appeals to the general public, such as washing powder, then wide-spread advertising works because everyone needs washing powder. Advertising then takes the form of education and information, especially when the public can compare the various products available. Lots of people will buy the powder so the advertising produces a good return on investment.
But, if you have a product or service which appeals to a niche market, something like the services of particular life-style practitioners, mass advertising will fall on deaf ears 99% of the time.
That's when it's expensive.
But how do I know what will work for my business?
Almost certainly you already have an idea of how you want to promote your product, who you want to buy it, and the price. You can follow your logical reasoning on this and it could work for you, with a few hints and tips from the Internet.
There is advice out there from Business Link and similar organisations, or you could speak to a marketing professional. An hour or two with a pro will help you to dig deeper into your instincts and come up with some excellent ideas, concentrating on the particular blend of activities for your marketing mix.
Decide on your budget. Then PLAN!
What should I think about before speaking to a marketing company?
First of all, why should anyone buy your product from you?
What exactly does it do?
How will your customers benefit?
What are your unique selling points – what's so special about your product?
Some concentrated thoughts around these will make your session with your marketing professional extremely worthwhile.
OK, I've done everything I need to and started to promote my product. How will I know if the marketing has worked?
It used to be assumed that marketing is impossible to measure. To some extent that's true, especially for events and exhibitions, and other activities which are essentially awareness exercises. It is undeniably true if these are not followed-up and the potential customers are allowed to escape because of lack of communication. That's a complete waste of time, effort, money, and brain cells. There should be laws.
But, if you firmly outline your success criteria, taking your company goals into account, you will be able to clearly see the contribution marketing has made to your business.
There are lots of ways of measuring, from the number of sales before a campaign and after, to customer satisfaction surveys.
Don't waste your time and money. Just keeping in touch with your customers through a regular newsletter could differentiate you from your competition.
Exposed!
The Truth Revealed is: it doesn't have to be rocket science. But we all need a little help and guidance from time to time.
Gillian Woodland
DuckWood Partners
www.duckwood.co.uk
01256 810663
07738 011708