If you ask most people what marketing means , they will answer that it is the process by which the potential customer chooses my product and not that of the competitors.
I agree with this definition. But what do you have to do to make this happen?
I propose that for the first time we try to understand why this process does not start in most cases:
Very often, the term marketing is associated with or rather confused with the term advertising, and this is not correct!
In fact, advertising is nothing more than a tool or a means of communication that allows us to amplify our message to a large number of people, in order to make ourselves known and then allow them to buy our products and / or services. .
Basically, when we talk about advertising, we refer to two different channels:
- offline or defined as traditional marketing (TV, radio, catalogs, billboards, magazines, newspapers, brochures, leaflets…)
- online (website, blog, facebook, google, instagram, linkedin, youtube…)
But let's start with a hypothetical example, but at the same time practical, which allows us to understand how those who want to do marketing often start from advertising.
Example 1 from real life - before implementing the marketing process
Let's say I'm a plumbing and heating technician, and as the summer season approaches, I decide to advertise in order to sell as many X-brand air conditioners as possible.
So what will be my approach?
I will ask my current provider, who is in charge of communication (web agency, freelance, etc.) to tell me what can be done and what strategy I should adopt.
Most likely he will propose to me to create a sponsored campaign on facebook / instagram where it will show product X or a similar image containing the product itself or even a more creative image (attract attention!) Proposing them to people who could be interested in installing an air conditioner in their home.
So, it will create a message where it will indicate our proposal / offer.
People who see this ad, if interested, will most likely contact me to request information. Suppose, therefore, that this is the picture of the situation.
No matter how stimulating, interesting, creative or viral the message is, before buying from me, people will probably wonder if there are cheaper offers / proposals for the same product I offer or similar products. Then they will search the internet and in shopping malls near their home, etc.
Suppose that, through questions, people find a more advantageous offer, which can be the same product X at a lower price or another product Y equivalent to mine. Only if I am the only technician in the area, they will call on me for convenience.
What does all this mean?
Simple, that the market changed compared to many years ago, when I was alone or with little competition.
In any sector, the competition has increased dramatically and continuing to do what you used to do only with the help of tools (even on the web) will not improve your situation so much, rest assured.
Because if what I propose is similar to what other competitors propose, I am completely comparable and if I do not have an "objectively differentiated" message through which potential customers perceive as being the specific or better solution to their problem, I will find myself in the situation of making a price war and even if I become very cheap, I am sure that there will always be someone else who will offer a lower price (for a thousand and a thousand different reasons…)
This example can be done for any other product or service.
That being said, I just wanted to describe a situation that occurs very often to those who start with just a few tools for advertising and not marketing.
I certainly do not want to denigrate the use of tools, but they should only be used after the implementation of the marketing process in your business.
But let's get into the specifics of what marketing means.
What marketing means: definition
We described in the example above, the concept of message, used to attract customers. But how do you create an effective one?
You need to make sure that this message is clearly perceived by potential customers or by people interested in the products and / or services offered, as the only one able to fully satisfy the specific problem or need. It must be something unique.
For this reason, those who do not rely on marketing will most likely not know where to start creating their message.
Once I understand better what the "message" is, we need to know how to implement it, so I suggest we start from a definition of what marketing means , which I consider more relevant:
Marketing is a process, ie that series of analytical, strategic and operational activities that together have the role of directing the company towards a series of existing opportunities or to identify new ones, in order to make the company grow even more profitable in the medium term. -long.
From this definition, we can understand that advertising is not marketing, but part of it. Marketing, as we mentioned in the definition, is a process that has inside a series of analytical, strategic and operational activities, while advertising is a tool.
Analytical marketing activities are the ones we need to know mainly:
- the market in which we operate;
- our competitors, both direct and indirect, what they do, how they communicate, what their strengths and weaknesses are, etc.
- our potential customers or people interested in our products and / or services
- our economic and financial situation (marketing cost analysis)
To learn more about competitor analysis, read the dedicated article: Competition Analysis in 5 Simple Steps
Strategic marketing activities are those that allow us, after we have all the data and information taken from analytical activities, to plan the marketing strategy by:
- creating our objective differentiating message , which allows us to be perceived as the only solution in the eyes of our potential customers. A differentiated message could be, for example: a specific guarantee, a service that we offer only, a service performed differently by competitors, etc. but this can only be defined after the completion of stage 1 or analytical marketing activities.
- choosing and using the chosen channels and tools
- defining the objectives we want to achieve (attention: the increase in turnover is not an objective, but only a consequence of the objectives to be defined)
Marketing operations are those activities that, due to what was planned in the marketing strategy, allow us to attract potential customers in order to convert them into customers.
Based on the type of activity, product, service and much more, all those actions will be taken to establish a relationship of trust between us and potential customers. Remember that especially in Romania, people are afraid and, therefore, it is very difficult for those we come in contact with to buy immediately.
Example 2 from real life - after implementing the marketing process
Now that I have defined what marketing means and its purpose, I will propose the same example made earlier, but with the difference that now we will implement the marketing process .
So I deal with plumbing and heating, and decide I want to sell X air conditioning as the summer season approaches. The previous summers were very hot and humid, and what is to come is perhaps even worse.
The difficulties encountered by those who did not have air conditioning in the house were largely the following:
- difficulty breathing;
- at night it is impossible to sleep;
- for the elderly it was a cause of illness;
- children, especially infants, have a harder time adapting to high temperatures;
- and so on
So, based on my potential client that I know and have already identified (through analytical marketing), I will create an objective differentiation message, specific to this offer, which can attract their attention and which is consistent with my differentiation. already created (strategic marketing).
I will use the tools I have defined (through strategic marketing) because now I know where to find potential customers, and where they are looking for information.
This way it will be easier for me to attract their attention and thanks to my message of differentiation they will know immediately why I can do better compared to my competitors.
But all this is not enough, in fact, after I implemented the marketing process in my business, I have already defined and created all my communication, I have informed and trained my team so that my potential client, where he decides to dig deeper before buying, as he has so much material and staff trained to allow him to perceive me as the only solution to his problem.
So, in reality, just one offer is not enough: that is, the right message, the right people, through the right tools, but a lot of work to consolidate what I set out to do, so that people can trust me over time and that I can enter their minds as a specialist in the field.
Therefore, this will allow me to be chosen by them even if others have more economically advantageous offers than mine.
Think about it: do you always buy what is cheaper from an economic point of view or do you choose to buy based on other criteria?
The last note worth expounding in this study is that based on the product and / or service you want to sell, it is necessary to analyze the decision-making process of people .
To conclude this article, I just want to remind you of the importance of marketing, or rather of implementing the marketing process.
I hope I was able to explain to you what marketing means , and how important it is in an activity.
