We are so immersed in marketing, that we sometimes forget that there are actually people out there who don’t feel it’s necessary! A client mentioned this week that a colleague had “convinced him of the need for marketing” and it made me realize that many people, submerged in their own expertise and in running their businesses, don’t really understand what marketing is and what it can do.
Essentially, marketing is understanding and communicating with customers, leading to them to purchase/engagement. The biggest mistake many business owners make is assuming people will want and buy their product or service. Why should they? That is the question marketers answer with a compelling value proposition, then determine a strategy for effectively communicating that value proposition to the specific target market for which it fills a need.
Marketing has multiple tools to execute that strategy: digital presence, social media, multimedia advertising, public relations, special events, thought leadership, packaging, partnerships, referral programs, promotional tactics, etc.; this list is only limited by goal, budget and the creativity of the marketing professionals you hire!
