Basic Business Cents
The dictionary defines
marketing as the action or business of promoting and selling products or
services. Too many people believe that if they design a better mousetrap or put
up a web site, customers will beat down their door for the honor of obtaining
their product or service. It isn’t usually that way in the real world. It is
necessary to market the product or service in a way to entice the customer to
buy.
There are many components of
marketing and the judicial use of which to use, when, and where are critical to
long-term success.
Market Research gathers information about customers’ needs and
preferences, which are not always the same. Sometimes the customers do not
really understand what their true needs are and good market research may have
to dig deep enough to discover it. The customer’s goal is to be very pleased
with the benefits of doing business with you and you have to ensure that your
product or service fits that need or preference. Market research should find
the best way to reach that customer to make the sale.
Sales are the actual actions of exchanging your commodity for
money. It can be in a store, face-to-face at the customer’s site, direct mail,
on the Internet, at a convention, or on the telephone. Until you make that sale,
you have no income to finance your activities. Sales professionals are fond of
saying that nothing starts until a sale is made.
Promotion is defined as the publication of a product, service, or
organization to increase sales and public awareness. It can take the form of advertising in various forms of media,
radio, television, newspapers, magazines, trade papers, public spaces,
vehicles, billboards, etc. The first rule
of thumb in advertising, as in all other promotional vehicles, is to speak of
benefits to the user and not of features of the product or service. This is
difficult for inventors and engineers as they are in love with their product or
service. Press Releases can be
useful as an alternative or supplement to advertising and it is free, but it
must be truly newsworthy or the media will not use it. Word-of-Mouth from delighted customers is the best form of promotion but it has to be earned. Electronic Word-of-Mouth is emerging as
important and is facilitated through various social media forms. It can be expedited
by placement of promotional pieces on selected outlets. Direct Mail is an avenue to reach customers, which can either be
my postal services or electronic. Build
and use your Network; it may be your
most important asset.
Collateral is the printed form of customer benefits of your product
or service. It can by flyers distributed by mail, display rack cards,
brochures, catalogs, hand-outs, manuals, books, and other material supporting
the promotion of your products or services. Testimonials, especially
unsolicited testimonials, and case studies are very useful as prospective
buyers look for references.
Not to be forgotten, After-Sales Activities are a very important
element of marketing. Service and follow-up to ensure satisfaction, or better
yet delight, with the product or service by the customers are critical.
Good market research and a
market plan will reveal which of these activities best fit your product, service,
target market, capabilities, and abilities to produce. The Market Plan will
detail not only which, but when and where to use these activities.
