So what is Marketing?Well without doubt it, marketing is one of the most important functions of a business because it will strongly influence your sales effort. Perhaps this is because it can appear very complex, particularly given the sophisticated approach that large corporations take in developing a “brand” and the resources that they apply. Most people make the mistake of believing that investing solely in "advertising" means they must be doing the right thing. This is so WRONG!! Certainly advertising is an potentially useful component but there is so much more to consider.
SWOT AnalysisThe start point for all businesses is a SWOT analysis which will critically reveal where the business is today and help shape where it is going in the future. I really like this tool as it is simple and yet highly effective in developing clear thinking. What’s more, it can be used to help analyse all sorts of business problems. It will create a simple map which can be used as the basis for a Strategic plan.Strategic PlanningThere are two things to consider:
It helps to show how a business competes against its competition and how it can develop an advantage. One of the most important things is how to attract and keep customers and then how to maximize your sales and profit with them. It should also address how to satisfy customers with prompt services and meet customer expectation levels. This is really important as customers are hard won and can be so easily lost by not paying this the full level of attention it should get! Operational marketing is concerned with the “marketing mix” or the choices that a business can take in order to market itself. This is often centred on advertising or building a brand. I prefer to focus on what products or services the customer wants. There is little point in having the best product or service delivery if no-one wants it! Your aim must be to ultimately develop a plan which is SMART, i.e. Specific---> Measured---> Achievable --->Realistic---> Targeted Everything that you decide to do should follow this rule. Why? Because so many people pursue actions by habit and waste a great deal of money. This will be saved if you set goals, monitor and measure the effectiveness of each action which you have laid out in your strategic plan.
The 4 P's (Marketing Mix)This is so wonderfully simple and yet so fundamental to your marketing thinking.Product: What does your product or service offer that your customers value? Do you need to change anything to make sure that your customers needs are met? Pricing: How much are you going to charge? I see so many clients who have panicked and had a knee jerk reaction to match or even go below their competitors prices. One client had done so to the point where she was loss making - and didn't realise the position she was in! With careful thought about the added value your products or services bring to your customers you may be able to charge a price premuim across all or part of your product range. Alternatively you may chose to "pile it high and sell it cheap", but make sure that you can sell enough volume to cover your costs and still make a profit! Promotion: This includes advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and personal selling etc Place: This is broadly concerned with how and where you chose to sell your products and services. It is worth considering the Geographic region, use of the Internet, B2B or B2C, target market (for instance young adults, families, businesses) etc. The combination of the 4 P’s is often referred to as the Marketing Mix
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