7.4 Not all customers are equal
7.5 Don’t be afraid to adjust your approach
Marketing covers all parts of your business
Most people think that marketing is mainly about advertising. A salesperson might regard marketing people as those who do the brochures and look after the website. But both views are only part of the picture, because marketing actually covers almost every aspect of a business.
I’ve been in marketing for 30 years and have worked as a brand manager, marketing director and freelance consultant in almost every type and size of business. And I’ve discovered that, although theory underpins what we all do, marketing is about innovation and the ability to learn from one’s mistakes.
This book has some classic marketing theory written in an easy way. I have split it into seven chapters with 50 secrets that cover all the practical aspects of marketing. You must read them all, even if you think they’re not all relevant to you. Be inquisitive and see what marketing people do elsewhere. Open your mind and ask yourself how each secret could work in your business.
Marketing is a philosophy. You must get yourself into the habit of thinking like a marketing person. Open your mind and imagine how you could seduce your customers and outwit your competition.
Identify markets. Everything starts with the customers and you must understand what makes them tick. To do this you need to be a bit of a clairvoyant and a psychologist, and to learn from experience.
Create what people want. At the end of the day someone must buy something, otherwise you have no reason to be in business. You must create what people want so they will choose you above your competitors.
Look where people buy. These days people don’t just buy from a shop or a salesperson. You must make sure that they can get your product wherever they would expect it to be available.
Devise your promotional mix. There are literally hundreds of ways to promote your business and products. You must pick the tool that’s right for the customer at each stage of the buying process.
Get on the Internet. You don’t need to be an Internet expert or be able to program a computer. But you must have an open mind and the imagination to see what the Internet could do for your business.
Make an achievable plan. At some point someone will ask you to write down what you’re going to do and why. Planning is rarely fun, but it helps you to clarify your thinking and justify what you intend to do.
When you’ve read these 50 secrets you’ll know more about marketing than anyone else in your organization. Then again, I’ve been in marketing for 30 years and I’m still learning!
Marketing starts with your customer and ends in profit.
Marketing is much more than just advertising or PR. It’s a culture, a way of doing things that starts with a potential customer and ends up with a profit. In the middle are your competitors who are after the same customers and same profits. Your job, as a marketing person, is to use some proven tools and techniques to attack the competition and gain the customers. It’s about predicting the future and using your imagination.
1.1 Marketing is about customers
If you pick up any of the classic books on marketing, you’ll find a definition that goes something like this. “Marketing is the process where a company satisfies customer needs with a product and service at a price that generates a profit.”
But marketing can be seen simply in two parts. Firstly, you must be able to work out what your customers want, now and in the future, and design a product and service that they will buy. Secondly, you must be able to tell potential customers all about your products and convince them to part with their money.
So a marketing person needs a mix of analysis, guesswork and psychology. It also helps if you are creative, but that’s not essential, as you can pay someone else for creativity. Over the years, marketing people have devised some tools and techniques to help them think it all through. Traditionally they are known as the four Ps of marketing.
1 Product. You must be able to answer three questions about your product or service. Is it what customers want? How does it stack up against the competition? And when will it be out of date?
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him or her and sells itself”
Peter F. Drucker, management guru
2 Price. What someone will pay is always a judgement, especially if you are the first in the market. It’s always better to price higher than you might initially think because you can always cut prices, whereas it’s almost impossible to increase them later.
3 Place. This is the marketing term for where your customer buys your product. These days, it can be very complicated, incorporating a variety of shop sizes and types, the Internet and mail order. You must manage all those different outlets, or places, so you don’t miss an opportunity to sell your products.
4 Promotion. There’s not much point in creating a product if nobody has heard about it. There are two vital questions. How will customers find out about our prod ucts? And will they have enough information to make a decision?
Fifty years ago, a company made a product and people bought it. Thirty years ago, companies had to sell their products. Today, companies must market their brand successfully, so that people trust them before they buy their products.
You must continuously evolve your products and services to match the changing needs of your customers.
1.2 Marketing is definitely not selling
Many people are confused by the difference between sales and marketing. Just remember that marketing people deal with markets that contain many potential customers, and they talk to them as a group. Whereas salespeople deal with a few customers and talk to them one at a time.
There is a lot of overlap between the two roles and this can sometimes cause conflict and misunderstanding. But it is essential that marketing and sales people work together and support each other to achieve the organization’s business objectives.
one minute wonder Make sure that you involve sales and customer service people as early as possible in all promotional campaigns.