Pretty much all Small Business owners and Sole Professionals seems to recognise that “marketing” is an essential element to the success of their business, but when you quiz them on what marketing actually is many are at a loss to explain it.
If you ask the same question to a dozen different marketing experts and professionals there is a very good chance that you will not get the same answer twice, and even if you look up the word in different dictionaries you will almost certainly find many different definitions.
A definition for Marketing?
One of the best “plain english” definitions that I have seen simply states :
Marketing is the process through which you create – and keep – customers.
Marketing is not simply about talking to your customers, it is about forming relationships with them. Marketing should be a two-way communication process between your business and your customers.
The Marketing Process
Marketing is not just a tool or activity that you “pull out” when you decide you want to get some more customers, it is an ongoing process which should be applied at pretty much every stage of your business. I’ve outlined below some of the typical marketing activities that should be applied for most businesses :
- Market Research – get to know your target customer, your product/service and your marketing environment
- Product Development – customise your product/service, pricing, packaging and distribution strategies to meet your customers needs, your niche market, and the competitive realities of your business
- Advertising, Promotions & Public relations – create and send a marketing message designed to get attention, stimulate interest, and raise awareness of your business
- Sales – make the sale
- Customer Service – ensure that the customer is happy, and follow up to ensure they remain satisfied. This can convert the initial sale into repeat business and word-of-mouth advertising for your business
- Customer Feedback – talk to customers to see what they want, what they like (and what they don’t like) , and if this feels a little like step 1 – you are right, because it is a cycle, and the end is also the beginning… and so the marketing process goes round and round.
