Get Insights into Marketing

Have you ever wondered why is marketing so important for your product and services? I mean, you have a great product/service it's revolutionary, and the next big thing but still you are not able to sell it. So let me answer your questions on how you can achieve your goals.

But before all that let's talk about marketing and why is it important to include a marketing plan in your business. And why every “Entrepreneur should be a marketer”. Let's start by answering a few questions.

What is marketing?

According to AMA(American Marketing Association), “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

The Fundamentals of Marketing.

Marketing starts even before the product is created and it starts with understanding the customers and their needs which ultimately leads to creating a product that fits. It’s about sending the right message to the right person at the right time. The purpose of marketing is building a brand image and capturing a position in the minds of the consumers. And it’s not just about selling but also keeping an existing customer happy and building a life long relationship with them through communication.

Philip Kotler defines marketing as “the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires.”

But you should always keep in mind that your product and services need to provide value for the consumers, know their pain points. And marketing is never more important than your product. Please note a great product sells itself and converts customers into brand ambassadors.

Remember WOM- Word of Mouth is the best channel of marketing where your customers become your promoters. When the consumer's interest in your company’s product or services is reflected in their daily dialogues. Essentially it is free advertising triggered by customer's experiences and usually something that goes beyond what they expected.

You need a great product but marketing not just helps people discover the product but also have a great perception about the product.

Branding

A company creates a name, symbol or design that is easily identifiable as belonging to the company. This helps to identify a product and distinguish it from other products and services. Branding is important because not only is it what makes a memorable impression on consumers but it allows your customers and clients to know what to expect from your company. Your brand is built to be a true representation of who you are as a business, and how you wish to be perceived.

It can be done through advertising, customer service, promotional merchandise, reputation, and logo. All of these elements work together to create one unique and (hopefully) attention-grabbing professional profile.

The 5Ps of Marketing

1.PRODUCT/SERVICE- What you are offering as a whole to your customers. Product decisions include functionality, branding, packaging, service, quality, appearance and warranty terms. Consider the key features, benefits, and the needs and wants of customers.

2. PRICE- The price element refers to the way you set prices for your products or services. It should include all the parts that make up your overall cost, including the advertised price, any discounts, sales, credit terms or other payment arrangements. Your pricing will also depend on your businesses position in the market.

3. PROMOTION — All the activities and methods you use to promote your products/services to your target market. It includes sales, public relations, direct marketing, advertising, sponsorship and social media. Consider who your target market is, what media do they consume, what the cost of that media will be, how many more sales you need to cover your investment and how you will gather the information that shows how the promotion has worked.

4. PLACE — The place element refers to how you get your product or service to your customers at the right time, at the right place, and in the right quantity. It includes distribution channels (e.g. via a shopfront, online or a distributor), location, logistics, service levels and market coverage.

5. PEOPLE — The people element refers to your customers, yourself and your staff. You need to consider both your staff and customers if you’re thinking of growing your business. It includes understanding what your customers’ needs and wants are, setting targets and measuring your customer service levels so that you attract and keep loyal customers. You’ll also need to consider staff training so they have the skills to offer the best experience and meet customer expectations.

Always remember, “Customer is the King”.

Why you should learn marketing?

Marketing is rooted in the human psychology thus has a long self life. You get an understanding of the market and is not going out of fashion. Knowing how to market and sell is one of the greatest skills you can have. And always remember as an investment in your business it gives direct returns as its backed by market research whereas other things do not give immediate return on investment.

Digital Marketing vs. Traditional marketing.

Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites to connect with current and prospective customers.

Traditional Marketing is done through traditional marketing channels like- Print media, Televison, Billboards, etc. eg- Amul ads that used both television and print and billboards to create awareness about the brand. Who can forget the amul girl, amul hits in print and billboards or there catchy slogans like- “Amul the Taste of India.”

The main difference between the both is the medium used for promoting and marketing your products and services. Traditional marketing is still as important as before. You might remember a tv commercial or a magazine ad you saw a while back and you purchase it because you remember that ad subconsciously and it affects your purchasing decision.

Digital marketing is equally important as people are using the internet for several hours each day and it has become a part of most people’s day to day life. eg- before planning a simple vacation people search on google for it.

You can find a balance in between the two or see which best works for your product or services. But its always great for a company to build an online presence as most of their consumers and prospects are online. Yes, traditional marketing is great but let me make a few points for, why you should start investing in digital marketing:

‣Its cost effective. You can always measure whats working for you and whats not.

‣You can increase your reach to prospects. Plus there is an added advantage of learning what your prospects actually think about your products and services or your competitors. What are their pain points? What are their needs and desires? etc.

‣You can always make changes in your campaign and see what works for you best.

‣And get direct feedback from your consumers and build a relationship with them. As you can interact with them through social media platforms and email marketing.

CATT Marketing Funnel

You might have heard of a marketing funnel. If you haven’t let me help you understand what is a marketing funnel. It describes the customers the customers journey with you. Right from the initial stage when someone learns about your business to the purchasing stage, marketing funnels map routes to conversion and beyond. By evaluating your funnels, you can potentially drive greater sales, more loyalty and brand awareness. Lets talk about CATT Marketing Funnel.

Wealth =n ^ CATT

n-Niche - The unique number one offering you have for your audience. Keep in mind your success and wealth depends on the niche you choose.

C- Content -Create useful content that attracts more people from your niche. eg- Blog posts, videos, lead magnets, live webinars,social media posts, email,etc

A- Attention- Driving attention or traffic to your content. Using SEO, Paid Ads, Referrals, Social Media, etc.

T- Trust - Build Trust with your audiences with trip wires, marketing automation and retargeting.

T- Transaction - Convert leads into customers with natural sales methods.

(P.S.- Here’s a trick to increase you conversion and make the prospects feel like you really value them. Start Doing Deep marketing, start customising your marketing efforts. You will thank me later. Here’s an example on how can you do it- Send personalised email, with the name of the prospect in the email. So that they feel you really value them and are conversing with them directly.)

How to choose the Right Niche.

But lets start with defining a niche. A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that it is intended to target. It is also a small market segment. The more micro niche you select there is more possibility of earning more. But always remember what you offer must have a market for it and valuable to the prospects. And be the best in what you do.

Niche selection

The three easy steps to finding your niche. All you have to do is as yourself these three questions:

Step 1-Do you have a talent or a skill?

Step 2-Are you passionate about that skill?

Step 3-Is there a market for the skill that you have.

Voila! You have found your niche.

Integrated Digital Marketing

Lets start by defining what Integrated means so it becomes easier for you to understand the concept of Integrated Digital Marketing. According to oxford dictionary, “integrated is the act or process of combining two or more things so that they work together.”

So basically Integrated Digital Marketing, is a process where you create an integrated ecosystem of different marketing strategies for your online business in such a way they start working together and your content acts as an accelerator and everything becomes interconnected.

It’s a strategy that blends all your marketing tactics. Then, each campaign and approach complement the other, creating a consistent image on the mind of the users and tracing a journey for them to go on. It means you have a well-structured and well-defined marketing plan. You unify all those channels of communication, creating the same experience to the audience in such a way that your marketing works as a whole and makes more sense to prospects

Personal Branding

People want to hear from people not brands, as its the conversation more deep and personal. A personal brand becomes an influencer and a brand ambassador for the companies that they run.

According to Wikipedia, “Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition, to ultimately advance their career, increase their circle of influence, and have a larger impact.”

The process of personal branding involves finding your uniqueness, building a reputation on the things you want to be known for, and then allowing yourself to be known for them. Ultimately, the goal is to create something that conveys a message and that can be monetized.

For example — Over the years Elon Musk has built his personal brand in such a way that he has more following than his own companies like- Tesla and SpaceX.

Though it has its own upsides and downsides.

Upside - With personal branding you can give rise to many brands from your own influence

Downside — A personal brand cannot be invested in and cannot be sold.

Personal Branding: MassTrust Blueprint

To create your Personal brand you will need to go through different stages and evolve to build MassTrust in your niche.

Lets take a look at the figure below and understand the MassTrust Blueprint:

• Learn- Learn new skills through concepts, facts and procedure.

Understand ➼ The Concept

Remember ➼ The Facts

Practise ➼ The Procedures

• Work- Put your new found skill to work.

Go From Practise ➼To Implementation

Implementing what you have learned in real world will give you better understanding of the concepts

• Blog- Write about what you have learned and experience through your work. When you write something you also start understanding it better and you will also start building your own personal brand.
• Consult- You have created a personal brand through your blog, you have work experience and learned the fundamentals. The next step is you start consulting other businesses instead of working for them.
• Mentor- When you start mentoring others, who want to become like you. You scale up your understanding to a whole new level.
• Startup- The final stage is where you can start your own product and services. With the understanding you have developed about the market, the problems and your own skills.

Conclusion

Start investing in marketing your products and services to your prospects its as simple as that. And start investing in digital marketing as well see the results.