Marketing exists in all businesses. A wonderful product with zero marketing effort will not run in the market. So, for all business owners, it is essential to allocate a monthly budget for marketing. That’s why it is important to understand what marketing is all about.
What Is Marketing?
Marketing is the course of actions a company adopts to attract its target audiences to the company’s products or services. The long-term goal of marketing is to demonstrate product value and build up brand loyalty which will lead to an increase in sales. A marketer needs to research consumer behavior all the time through surveys, observation, and other methods. Their goal is to present the product or service to the right customer and make them interested in buying it. In the past, only print media was used for marketing. Later TV and radio were used for marketing. Now the internet has become a primary platform for marketing. Today, marketers use multiple platforms to conduct their campaigns.
Marketing vs. Sales vs. Advertising
Many people confuse marketing with sales and advertising, so it’s essential to know the differences among them. Sales are direct interaction with potential customers to help them decide to buy the product or service. Marketing, on the other hand, simply sparks the interest in the brand. In the case of sales, additional information is given about the product, and personalized solutions are provided. Both sales and marketing departments have to work together. Marketing includes new product development, market research, supply chain management, public relations, customer support, and more. It is needed in each stage of the selling journey. Advertisement is a small chunk of marketing. It helps to spread awareness about the brand.
Marketing Mix
If you are working in the marketing department then you must be well aware of the marketing mix. It is the technique that companies use to promote their brand. Originally, the marketing mix consisted of 4 Ps, but now it’s expanded to 7 Ps. Here is a brief discussion about them.
Product
Before you turn your brilliant idea into a product, the marketing team must find out about your target audience, whether the product is fit for the market, and related things. These questions will help to find out if there is demand for the product and whether the business will earn high revenue. When designing a product you should consider its design, features, quality, options, packaging, and market positioning.
Price
The correct price of the product is determined by the marketing team by comparing the prices of the competitors’ products. They use research techniques like surveys or focus group discussions to find out the amount customers will be willing to pay. The price should be such that you make a profit and also don’t lose customers. The pricing also depends on your goal. For example, if you are entering a crowded market then the price should be lower than that of the competitors’. When setting a price for your product you should consider its unit cost price, distribution cost, and marketing costs.
Promotion
Promotional activities create interest in your product or service and make customers aware of the brand. Advertisements, social media promotions, and public relations are all part of promotion. Customers decide whether they buy a product or not by looking at in-store promotions, websites, or advertisements. You need to vary your promotion according to the product life cycle.
Place
The marketing team must decide in which places to sell the products. It may be an e-commerce site, a retail shop, or both. You should consider the type of product placement your product gets when using these distribution channels.
People
People don’t only include the customers, but also those who come in contact with the customers indirectly as well. You should recruit the best people in all the departments of the company. You should concentrate more on customer relationship management or CRM to create customer loyalty.
Packaging
The packaging of a product grabs the attention of customers. So, you should focus on your packaging and try to differentiate the design from that of the competitors’. The packaging should contain valuable information about the product. You can exceed customers’ expectations by giving free recipes with the spice you are selling, for example.
Process
Your process must be seamless so that the customer experience turns out to be outstanding. So, you should train your staff well so that they can meet customers’ needs on time. They must pay attention to the customers to exceed their expectations. You should also make sure that your logistics are cost-efficient.
These 7 Ps guide you to develop your marketing plan and strategy. By incorporating these 7 Ps you can promote your products or services to your target market effectively.
Types Of Marketing
Before designing your marketing campaign, you must do thorough research on your target customers to find out which platforms will work for your campaign. Here are the types of marketing you can choose from.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an organic form of marketing that can give you results in the long term. You need to be patient with this type of marketing and the result is guaranteed. As most businesses today have an online presence they compete for the top ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs). When prospective customer searches for a product or service, they usually don’t go beyond the first page of the search results. So, the target of the company should be to rank their site on the first page of the SERPs. SEO can help you achieve your goal. SEO optimizes the content to so that your company website appears at the top of SERPs. This way your brand will be more visible to the prospective customers and they will buy from you. You should keep your website updated with the latest information all the time and make it mobile-friendly.
Blog Marketing
Publishing blogs can help companies to talk about their business to potential customers. Blogs give them the platform to share their thoughts on industry trends, the products or services they are selling, and more.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing can attract a lot of audiences within a short time. Businesses use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other networks to promote their brands. Through these platforms, the businesses can directly interact with the prospective customers. YouTube allows you to share videos which attracts customers more.
Print Marketing
Besides the digital marketing options, businesses use the traditional ones too, like print marketing. It is a common practice for businesses to sponsor articles or photography in magazines and newspapers or advertisements on billboards.
Email Marketing
You can send emails to people who might be looking for the products you are selling. For example, new moms will be looking for diapers. So, if you are selling diapers, then you can influence this customer to buy from you by sending an email mentioning the features of your product. Email marketing can help develop long-lasting relationships with your customers. You should be consistent in sending the emails to get effective results.
Paid Advertising
In this type of marketing, you allocate a budget for advertisements on search engines, social media platforms, or other places on the internet. It can reach a lot of people and you can get quick results.
Outdoor Marketing
This includes printed advertisements on sticker wraps which are put on vehicles or benches, advertisements on public transport, and even billboards. Whenever people go out they see these advertisements and it stays in their memories. When they go to buy something in the market they recall the advertisements and try out those products.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing refers to pitching potential customers directly by sending brochures, pamphlets, coupons, or vouchers. It is easier to measure its effectiveness than other marketing options.
Event Marketing
In this type of marketing the potential customers are invited to a particular location to tell them about the company’s products or services. Events include product demonstrations, conferences, seminars, roadshows, trade shows, and others.
Mobile Marketing
This is a type of online marketing focused on reaching customers through their smartphones. In mobile marketing messages or advertisements are sent through SMS, MMS, or mobile applications.
Video Marketing
YouTube and different social media platforms have created a platform for video marketing. Marketers now use video marketing to reach more audiences, drive traffic to their websites, and generate sales or raise awareness about the brand. Videos include product videos, explainer videos, client testimonials, interviews, and others.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has become popular now. Influencers ‘influence followers through their content. They create quality content on social media and communicate about different brands. Many customers trust the influencers and try out products or services they recommend.
Experiential Marketing
In experiential marketing, marketing professionals try to create a wonderful and memorable experience for the customer. It is different from the traditional marketing approaches and helps to leave a lasting effect on the customers’ minds. It creates emotional connections and helps to improve the relationship with the brand. This can include in-store activities, samplings, events, or other things.
Guerrilla marketing is a type of experiential marketing where the marketers catch potential customers off guard. It is creative and memorable. An example of experiential marketing can be the Wimbledon campaign of Haagen-Daz. It promoted its limited-edition flavor Strawberries & Cream by collaborating with Wonderland. They created a photo booth at the Wimbledon championship. Coca-Cola created the VR experience during the FIFA World Cup. They placed a VR machine in front of a train station. When people stood in front of it, they could see a famous soccer player beside them and practice a soccer move with them.
Affiliate Marketing
Some companies use a third party to attract customers. The affiliates get a commission from the sale of the product. Affiliate marketing can reach a wide number of potential customers. It is a cost-effective approach.
Creating Marketing Campaigns
In developing a marketing campaign your first task is to set appropriate goals which can be generating revenue, getting more website traffic, increasing customer retention rate, improving conversion rate, and others. You should research your market to find the needs of the prospective customers. This can be done by conducting surveys or sending emails to the customers. You need to find out how your product can benefit the customers. You should then come up with an offer, like special discounts and a ‘call to action’ feature. You must create a powerful message aimed at your target audiences. This again needs market research. You should appealingly send the message, so you need a well-designed marketing campaign. You must pick the right color, sound, fonts, and other elements. Before you delve into your marketing campaign, you must set up a budget. Divide the budget weekly, monthly, or yearly. Here are some examples of good marketing campaigns:
Domino’s Reward Program
Domino’s ‘Piece of the Pie Rewards’ was a successful marketing campaign. In this program, whenever a customer spends $10 he or she gets 10 points. After accumulating 60 points, the customer can redeem it for free pizza.
Apple’s ‘Shot On iPhone’ Campaign
The purpose of this campaign was to showcase the iPhone’s camera. Apple asked customers to share photos that were taken with the iPhone and share them on social media. The best photos were displayed in buildings, billboards, and other outer spaces.
Coca-Cola’s ‘Share A Coke Campaign
People’s names were printed on Coca-Cola bottles. Lyrics of songs were also printed on bottles. In some countries interactive billboards were placed that greeted people by their names.
Red Bull’s ‘Stratos Mission
In this campaign, Felix Baumgartner, a skydiver, jumped from the edge of the earth by flying to the stratosphere in a helium balloon. This free fall created millions of impressions for Red Bull.
Pepsi’s Challenge
Pepsi conducted a blind taste challenge between Coke and Pepsi in public places and malls. People were excited to tell the difference. Brand awareness improved through this marketing campaign.
Realization
Companies are now moving towards marketing automation. It can improve customer experience and free up time for marketing professionals to focus on things that are more creative and important. This saves time and reduces costs eventually. Using technology, repetitive marketing tasks are automated, like sending emails or SMS. Developing customized marketing campaigns is more convenient with marketing automation. However, some campaigns cannot be automated; so marketers should always be created and come up with unique ideas to promote their products or services. Every business must have a dedicated marketing team to promote the brand; otherwise, it won’t be possible to expand the business or earn more revenue.
