Here’s What You Don’t Know About Marketing That could help your Business
How to be successful in your business? Can marketing help you to grow your business?
What kinds of marketing help grow your business?
If you are here with the same questions in your mind as above, then you are in the right place.
Let us learn the secrets of marketing
In this article, I am going to talk about what is marketing and the importance of marketing what kind of marketing’s and how are they useful to grow our business and many more.
“Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” -JOE CHERVOV
What is Marketing?
Marketing is promoting a product of a company to make sales and making awareness of the brand.
Marketing is the heart of every business, Marketing starts before product production starts. When a company wants to launch a new product in the market they perform a trial in the market with samples of the product to know whether the product will sustain in the market or not,
There will always, one can assume, be a need for some selling. But marketing aims to make selling superfluous. Marketing aims to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.
“The Concept of the Marketing Mix” demonstrated the ways that companies could use advertising tactics to engage their consumers. Decades later, the concepts that Borden popularized are still being used by companies to advertise their goods and services.
It was actually E. Jerome McCarthy, a marketing professor at Michigan State University, who refined the concepts in Borden’s book and created the idea of the “4 Ps,” a term that is still used today.
How the Four Ps Work
Product
Product refers to a good or service that a company offers to customers. Ideally, a product should fulfil existing consumer demand. Or a product may be so compelling that consumers believe they need to have it and it creates new demand. To be successful, marketers need to understand the life cycle of a product, and business executives need to have a plan for dealing with products at every stage of their life cycle. The type of product also partially dictates how much businesses can charge for it, where they should place it, and how they should promote it in the marketplace.
Price
Price is the cost consumers pay for a product. Marketers must link the price to the product’s real and perceived value, but they also must consider supply costs, seasonal discounts, and competitors’ prices. In some cases, business executives may raise the price to give the product the appearance of being a luxury. Alternatively, they may lower the price so more consumers can try the product.
Marketers also need to determine when and if discounting is appropriate. A discount can sometimes draw in more customers, but it can also give the impression that the product is less exclusive or less of a luxury compared to when it is was priced higher.
Place
When a company makes decisions regarding place, they are trying to determine where they should sell a product and how to deliver the product to the market. The goal of business executives is always to get their products in front of the consumers that are the most likely to buy them.
In some cases, this may refer to placing a product in certain stores, but it also refers to the product’s placement on a specific store’s display. In some cases, placement may refer to the act of including a product on television shows, in films, or on web pages in order to garner attention for the product.
Promotion
Promotion includes advertising, public relations, and promotional strategy. The goal of promoting a product is to reveal to consumers why they need it and why they should pay a certain price for it.
Marketers tend to tie promotion and placement elements together so they can reach their core audiences. For example, In the digital age, the “place” and “promotion” factors are as much online as they are offline. Specifically, where a product appears on a company’s web page or social media, as well as which types of search functions trigger corresponding, targeted ads for the product.
Selling the product through marketing should not be the only aim. But keeping the existing customer happy by providing good services through communication, so that they can remain a customer for life.
“As marketers, we should be changing the mantra from always be closing to always be helping.” — JONATHAN LISTER
The Laws of Marketing
Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not product or service.
The Law of Leadership
It’s better to be first than it is to be better.
If you’re the first one in the market you’re already a step ahead of the rest. The law of leadership applies to any industry, any product or service or any brand.
The idea is to create a category you can be first in, rather than convincing potential prospects your offering is the better choice.
People always recognize the product that got there first as the leader in the market and the better product — and marketing is a clash of perceptions, not products and services.
Examples: How many times have you said if you could make a “Xerox” copy? Or get a “Kleenex”? Or buy a “Coke”? Even if the machine is clearly not a Xerox, the tissue papers just a generic brand, and the soda, not Coca-Cola, the brand sticks in your mind as it got there first.
The Law of the Category
If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.
If you have a competition and your industry is in a saturated state then you have to gear up and think differently and should come up with new and unique ideas as people are always interested in what’s new in the market.
When launching a new product or service which has a similar competing product in the market already, it is not recommended marketing those similar features, as people are already used to them and don’t easily change to the new product with the same features until there is something, different or better or new with a new product. So it’s always better to concentrate on how different is your product from the rest or how better it can perform or what new added features it has than the rest and market it accordingly.
If you are launching a completely new product, which does not exist already in the market, then it is strongly recommended to market that product as a new category in the products but not as a product itself. It eliminates the chances of being competed in that category, as you are already first in that category.
Examples: Although IBM was the first company in computers, Dell was the first to market their computers by phone. Even though Marie Curie was not the first woman scientist, she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
The Law of Mind
It’s better to be first in the mind than it is to be first in the marketplace.
Once you’ve made up your mind about something, how difficult is it to change it? In the same way, being first in the market is of no use when you are not able to get into the minds of the customer. Once the mind is made up no matter how much you spend on marketing; it’s very difficult to change the fact.
“Being first in the market is only important if you can get into the mind of the consumer first.” However, one way to achieve this is to have a simple brand name that resonates with prospects.
The Law of Perception
Marketing is not a battle of products; it’s a battle of perception.
There is no best product and service it’s all about the game of perception, marketing a product and thinking that the product will win or lose in the market based on its merits is wrong.
Marketing a product or service has nothing to do with its features, but how people understand the product or service is important. This perception is the true reality.
Marketing is nothing but a manipulation of perception in the mind of the customer. Everything else is just an illusion. There are no “best” products and services.
Example: In the United States when you think of Honda you may think of a high-quality reliable car manufacturer, however in India, Honda is best known for its motorcycles, with car sales nowhere close to other brands. If quality was all that mattered, then Honda would have had the same position in all markets.
The Law of Focus
The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind.
What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of IBM? You might have said “computers.” What about Intel? You probably said “computer chips.”
If you want to be remembered in the market then “narrow” your focus on one thing rather than chasing after everything which gives you nothing. Give your best for the product to be in the market, do everything you can no matter how complicated your product is.
Corporations who are already the leaders in their market (as per the law of leadership) already have a word in their category, such as FedEx owns the word “overnight.”
If you’re not a leader in your market, you need to pick a word with a narrow, benefit-oriented focus — no matter how complicated your product is. Once you have your word, you must do everything you can to protect it in the market.
The Law of Exclusivity
Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.
Picking a unique word by following a law of focus is great but, the word you picked should be unique and should not be in-market or owned by your competition. If it is already in the minds of prospects, it's highly unproductive to try to take over that word no matter what efforts you take or how much money you spend.
Example: Burger King could not compete with their major competitor McDonald’s when they tried to take over the word “fast.” FedEx could not take over the word “worldwide” from their competitor DHL.
The Law of the Ladder
The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.
Your marketing strategy should depend on which position you occupy on the ladder, or where your unique position is in the market. It’s no secret that when a prospect makes decisions they have a hierarchy in mind. It can cause a great damage to claim something that you are clearly not, as the mind of the prospect is already made up. If you’re №2 or 3 or further down the ladder, you need to acknowledge that and use a different marketing strategy to your advantage.
It can be disastrous to claim something that you are clearly not, as you have to remember as per Law 3, the mind of the prospect is already made up.
Example: Although McDonald’s is first in fast-food, Wendy’s did not claim to be “fast” but adopted the campaign “fresh, never frozen,” to carve their niche and compete with the big fast-food chains.
The Law of Duality
In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.
In the beginning, when you carve your way into a new category you may be on a ladder with many rungs. But eventually, the ladder will turn into one that has two rungs, with the top two companies competing for market share. This is true for every market.
Examples: Microsoft and Apple. Coca-Cola and Pepsi. McDonald’s and Burger King. FedEx and DHL.
The Law of The Opposite
If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.
This law basically states that when the leader is strong, it’s a good time for the competitor second in line to catch the leader off-guard and turn the tables.
Doing this means two things:
First, №2 should not emulate the leader, but rather do the exact opposite to stand out. It’s not about being better, but about being different.
Second, leveraging the leader’s strength into a weakness takes courage, so №2 cannot afford to go into this battle being coy and fearful.
Example: Competing with Levi’s, the established first name in jeans, Gap kicked off a campaign a decade ago marketing their denim as “quality jeans at an inoffensive price.” Similarly, Coca-Cola’s time-honoured brand was met by Pepsi marketing itself as the choice of the young generation.
The Law of Division
Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.
As time progresses, one category will split into more categories.
If you take computers, you’ll find there are category leaders in each separate category of what it takes to make a computer — from the processor to the RAM, to the graphics card.
Similarly, if you take aircraft, what started out as a single category is now divided into passenger airplanes, cargo planes, helicopters, private jets and more.
If a leader chooses to maintain their dominance, when they enter a new category, they need to go into it by establishing a new brand name. It rarely works if a brand name that has been successful in one category, will be successful in another.
Example: When Toyota wanted to create a new luxury car, they created and marketed it under a new brand, Lexus.
The Law of Perspective
Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.
In marketing, one point that’s important to remember is that long-term planning should not necessarily be sacrificed for short-term gains.
Example: When a company holds a sale it may see increases to its balance sheet in the short-term, however in the long run what it is actually doing is indirectly telling its customers that the best time to buy its products is when there’s a sale, hurting profits and their bottom line in the long-term.
The Law of Line Extension
There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of a brand.
When a company is running successfully, it may decide to take a line extension, which basically means, taking its brand name and putting it on a new product that it plans to put out in the market.
This could eventually lead to a successful, profitable brand that is focused on one flagship product or service losing money over more offerings.
The key is to be the best in your niche, and not try to be all things to all people.
Less is always more. The narrower the focus, the better you’ll be able to fortify your position in the mind of the prospect.
In order to address new markets, create a new brand, rather than extending the equity of your current brand into the new market.
The Law of Sacrifice
You have to give up something in order to get something.
The Law of Sacrifice is actually the opposite of Law 12, the law of line extension. What the Law of Sacrifice states is that in order to be successful you need to give up something.
There are three things that you can sacrifice if you want to keep succeeding doing what you do:
· Target market
· Product line
· Constant change
The Law of Attributes
For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute.
In order to succeed in the market, you need to find your own attribute rather than doing the same as competition and fail miserably because similar attribute will not work. Come up with different attribute which attract the eyes of prospect.
Come up with an attribute which holds value to the customer , The key is to find an attribute that is actually opposite to what the leader is using — a similar attribute will not work. You never know which attribute will work, so never scoff at one.
The Law of Candor
When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.
It might go against everything you think you know as a marketer, but one of the best ways to get into the mind of a consumer is to admit to a problem.
Being able to honestly admit a negative, automatically makes it the truth, as no proof is needed for admitting to something that is negative.
This immediately catches a prospect’s attention and is a great way to get into the mind of a prospect.
When you admit to something negative, it requires skill, and you instantly have to back it up with something positive — and the prospect has to agree to it.
Example: Avis openly admitted that it is №2 after Hertz in rent-a-cars, by using the slogan “We Try Harder.”
The Law of Singularity
In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.
As a marketer, you may think that success in marketing will be achieved after a long journey of well-executed marketing efforts, but the truth is that all it takes is one good shot.
Just like the 80/20 rule, the Law of Singularity states that in marketing, only one move can generate sizable results.
For marketers, the key is to always know what is going on in the marketplace and to strike where the competitor is most vulnerable.
The Law of Unpredictability
Unless you write your competitor’s plans, you can’t predict the future.
One of the most futile things a company can do is to predict what their competition might do and draw out their marketing plans based on this assumption.
Nobody can predict the future, so the best thing you can do is to build enough flexibility into your company and your marketing strategy so that you can respond quickly to any situation you may be faced with.
“Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.” — Beth Comstock, Former CMO & Vice Chair, GE
The Law of Success
Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.
When it comes to successful marketing, there’s one major enemy — ego.
Often, when people taste success they become less objective, replacing their own judgment for what the market demands.
In order to be an effective marketer, you need to be objective and not let your ego get in the way. Drop your arrogance, and be objective.
The Law of Failure
Failure is to be expected and accepted.
There’s no easy way to put this — but drop things that don’t work. What most companies will do is to try and fix things or “reorganize” to fix the situation, which rarely ever works.
What this law states is that it is better to recognize failure for what it is and cut your losses early.
The Law of Hype
The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.
Often when things are going well, a company rarely needs hype or attention. When it does need it, however, is when things are not going their way, and definitely when the company is in trouble.
It’s also important to remember that hype is not directly proportional to the success of a product or service.
Example: Google Glass was heavily hyped, with millions itching to try it, however, it didn’t live up to consumer expectations.
The Law of Acceleration
Successful programs are not built on fads, they are built on trends.
A fad is a brief surge in fame for any product, that has a short lifespan. Think of fad diets, clothes, and toys. Once the novelty is gone, the fad quickly goes out of mind, for the prospect.
Trends, on the other hand, can go on for years. For example, instead of a fad diet, the trend of eating healthy organic food is sure to go on for much longer.
So, if you’re faced with a business that seems more like a fad, the best thing to do is to dampen it out and stretch it, to make it more of a trend.
The Law of Resources
Without adequate funding, an idea won’t get off the ground.
It’s no secret that all marketing requires adequate resources. It takes money to get into the mind of a prospect. And it may take even more money to keep that place.
Once you have an idea, you will need the resources to develop it. Don’t expect your idea to take off without sufficient funding.
A great product converts your customer into a brand ambassador. Word of mouth marketing is the best channel of marketing ever.
Advertising, Sales are a few of the components of marketing.
“Many companies have forgotten they sell to actual people. Humans care about the entire experience, not just the marketing or sales or service. To really win in the modern age, you must solve for humans.” — Dharmesh Shah, CTO & Co-Founder, HubSpot
Communication skills
Communication is the base for every business, A good communication is when you can transfer your thoughts in a way that others can easily understand, not vocabulary or grammar. Good Marketing is all about good communication which can lead to growth in business.
As a businessperson, knowing how to communicate with your employees and clients is a necessity. The message must communicate a feeling, need or thought.
Effective communication is necessary for the growth of every organization. It plays a significant role in all facets of business, including marketing. Your employees must have remarkable communication skills, which will enable them to communicate with your potential clients when marketing. It is advisable to create an advert, either online or offline, that contains informative and interesting information. People like reading or seeing creative adverts when watching televisions or going through their social media accounts.
In the marketing process, you must present your goods and services to your potential clients and convince them to purchase. If you want to be a successful marketer, you must possess the best communication skills or traits in the form of team communications, visual and written messages, and personal interaction. If you are running a new business, you need to understand that your potential clients have been buying products and services from your competitors. Therefore, in order to win their hearts, you have to use communication as a tool to make your services or products shine.
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other”. — Martin Luther King
“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” — Brain Tracy
Digital Marketing VS Traditional Marketing
Selecting the right marketing type is now a big question in every marketer’s mind.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing refers to advertising through digital platforms or channels such as social media, websites, mobile apps, search engine.
“Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone.” — KB Marketing Agency
What is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional marketing refers to any type of marketing that isn’t online. This means Newspaper, print, broadcast, billboards, and TV commercials.
Traditional Marketing is not only one of the oldest forms of marketing, but also one of the most researched. Marketers lean towards this method because it’s tried and true. Everyone encounters some sort of traditional marketing in their everyday lives, whether it’s your Newspaper.
The main difference between digital and traditional marketing is the medium through which an audience encounters a marketing message. While traditional marketing uses traditional media like magazines and newspapers, digital marketing uses digital media, such as social media or websites.
Traditional marketing still plays an important role in people’s lives, the immersive experience of an impactful TV commercial and the Newspaper, magazine are as important today as they were 20 years ago because of their lasting effects on your memory. Subconsciously you attach yourself to their brand emotionally, meaning they will stay at the top of your mind.
Digital marketing is just as important as traditional if not even more so. Digital marketing uses every touchpoint of your daily use of the internet to reach you.
If you are Google searching a product, the chances are that soon after you will see a sponsored ad of that product.
A common problem that digital marketing can solve is to optimize your marketing strategies, digital is mandatory. Digital marketing can help you to get to know your audience, learn important data about them, and provide metrics that will give your marketing team credibility.
According to ClickZ, “Internet users now make up 57% of the global population. On average, people spend 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day. By 2021, a projected 73% of all ecommerce sales will come from mobile.”
What’s the difference between Digital Marketing and Traditional Marketing?
TRADITIONAL MARKETING
In traditional marketing product or services are promoted through Television, Telephone, Banner, Broadcast, Hoarding
Traditional marketing is not much cost-effective
Traditional marketing is a slow process for brand building
Traditional marketing is difficult to measure
Traditional Marketing Includes
.TV Advertisements
. Radio
. Banner Ads
. Hoardings
. Sponsorship
. Print Ads
DIGITAL MARKETING
In digital marketing product or services are promoted through digital platforms like social media, or electronic medium, SEO, PPC etc
Digital marketing is more cost-effective
Digital marketing is effective and fast for brand building
Digital marketing is easy to measure with the help of Analytic tools
Digital Marketing Includes
. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
. Web Design
. Content Marketing
. Social Media Marketing
. Email Marketing
Direct Response Marketing
Direct response marketing is a type of sales technique designed to evoke an on-the-spot response and encourage a prospective customer to take action by opting in the advertiser’s offer. Unlike other marketing types, the direct response requires little or no time waiting to see measurable results.
Advertisers are able to access performance from the moment the campaign is launched. Direct response marketing facilitates the delivery of a “call to action” via direct or online interaction.
An ad in the Newspaper with a phone number to call is direct response marketing
An ad leading to a landing page with a lead form is direct response marketing
A sales page with a product with a link to purchase the product is direct response marketing
“Direct Marketing is evolving every day; in some cases, it seems that we have come full circle. A few years ago, there was the rush to telemarketing, and then came the rush to the Internet. Now marketers are starting to understand that all of these — telephone, mail, internet, e-mail, so-called ‘new media’ — are simply alternative channels that enable direct contact with a customer.”
– Audrey Price-Dix
CATT Marketing Funnel
Where
[N] Stands for Niche
[C] Stands for Content
[A] Stands for Attention
[T] Stands for Trust
[T] Stands for Transaction
Niche: The first important thing is to select a very good niche, Your success and wealth depends on the niche you choose
Content: Why content is so important in the first place? Because of the content that provides value to your targeted users, they start trusting you. Good quality content is important to build trust with your audience, which can lead people to buy your product and services. To create useful content that attracts people. Blog posts, Videos, Live Webinars, etc.
“Content is king.” — Bill Gates, Co-Founder, Microsoft
“To continue winning the internet marketing game, your content has to be more than just brilliant — it has to give the people consuming that content the ability to become a better version of themselves.” — Michelle Stinson Ross, Managing Director of Marketing Operations, Apogee Results
Attention: Drive attention to your content using SEO, SEM, SOCIAL MEDIA, and PAID ADS.
Trust: Now you have content and good audiences also now build trust with them via marketing retargeting
Transaction: The most important part is a transaction; convert your lead into a customer with natural sales methods
Integrated Digital Marketing
“Integrated marketing offers opportunities to break through to consumers in new markets.” — Betsy Holden, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Co.
The days where little one-off marketing techniques made an impact. Now the game has changed as search engines continue to change. To overcome this you need to combine a lot of digital strategies into integrated digital marketing.
Integrated digital marketing is the integration of multiple marketing strategies together to form an online approach to your business.
· web development and design
· search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)
· content marketing
· social media marketing
· local listings management
· paid advertising (or pay-per-click advertising) campaigns
The idea behind integrated digital marketing is that, while each individual strategy doesn’t have a huge impact on its own, when used in conjunction, you can create a more influential online presence.
Integrated marketing communications is a way of looking at the whole marketing process from the viewpoint of the customer — Philip Kotler
Personal Branding: Mass Trust Blueprint
Is personal branding important?
I say personal branding is important in the first place because people want to hear from successful people not from brands.
A personal brand can influence many people and has the capacity to raise many brands, it cannot be invested and sold
What Is Personal Branding
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is famously quoted as saying, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” The term “branding” used to be reserved for businesses, but with the advent of social sites and the gig economy, personal branding has become fundamental. A personal brand is a unique combination of skills and experiences that make you who you are. It is how you present yourself to the world. Effective personal branding will differentiate you from the competition and allow you to build trust with prospective clients and employers.
Why is it really important?
Whether you’re an employee or entrepreneur, cultivating a personal brand has become more important than ever. One reason is that it is more popular for recruiters to use social media during the interview process. According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and 43% of employers use social media to check on current employees. Personal branding is also beneficial from the employer’s perspective. Companies should encourage employees to build strong personal brands because it’s good business. When employees are allowed to represent their company at conferences or events, they are not only developing themselves but also providing the organization more exposure. Employees can help acquire new customers and retain existing ones when they are viewed as trustworthy thought leaders.
Developing a great personal brand doesn’t happen overnight. It’s imperative to be able to communicate your purpose and mission to your audience in a genuine way. Here are some examples of famous people who have built incredible personal brands through hard work, consistency and a long-term focus.
Oprah Winfrey: Oprah is undoubtedly the queen of personal branding. She is continually building equity in her brand which has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Forbes. Oprah has always stuck to her core competency: challenging millions of viewers to live the best lives possible by understanding their potential. By being true to herself, she has inspired millions to be their best selves.
Richard Branson: Richard Branson is undeniably one of the most visible, successful, and well-known men alive. He has continually stayed true to his core values, including adventure and risk-taking. By being himself, he has often done exactly what other business leaders cautioned against, including crazy publicity stunts like dressing as a flight attendant for a competing airline. His unorthodox style and commitment to his passions have helped him create a powerful personal brand. Branson says, “Too many companies want their brands to reflect some idealized, perfected image of themselves. As a consequence, their brands acquire no texture, no character and no public trust.”
Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product — Elon Musk
Learn: Learn a new skill through concepts, facts, and books
Work: Implement the skills you learn through concepts, facts practical implementation can make you understand better
Blog: Now write what you learned through implementation in a better way
Consult: Now you have a personal blog, personal brand and work experience can start consulting
Mentor: Now you are an expert in your work and you can start teaching people as a mentor and you can be expertise more now
Startup: Now you can launch your product/service with your brand market and skills
Conclusion:
I hope you liked the above content about marketing and its importance in every business aspect. Whatever may be the technique to approach a customer, either traditional marketing or digital marketing each play important role in the market. Let’s adopt the latest technologies and techniques and remember what you learnt from the previous one. Every piece of information has some value in the market.