So What The Heck is Marketing Anyway?
Ask anyone in business and you’re likely to get different answers!
The problem is that some people want to make it complicated to further the notion that it’s difficult and so should be left to ‘professionals’.
My Definition of Marketing:
The fact is, it’s nothing more complicated than...
Letting your potential customers know exactly what you do and making it really easy for them to buy from you.Â
I’d probably be strung up in the halls of academia for oversimplifying things here but for the purposes of most small businesses, it really is no more complicated than that.Â
The clever bit comes when you accurately define your ‘Ideal Customer’ so you can concentrate your marketing efforts solely on a group of people you know are likely to want what you have to offer.
Most independent business owners fail to identify their ideal customer(s) and engage in general advertising and marketing activities with little consideration given to who the activities are aimed at.Â
Example
For instance, a sports retailer with a promotion on golf clubs is more likely to get a better response from advertising in ‘Golf Monthly’ or putting a poster in the local Golf Club’s locker room or Pro shop than placing an advert in the local newspaper or radio station.
Some markets are easily identified, like in the example above, if you’re selling golf clubs, your market is golfers but other products and services may be less easily defined.Â
There is often a tendency to market to ‘the masses’ if your product could be used by anyone – a locksmith for instance whose products and services could be used by anyone, either domestic or commercial.Â
In this case there may be an argument for general advertising if the cost is attractive, as this may be useful for brand awareness but targeting people moving house may produce better returns as that’s a specific market which might be looking for the product and services they provide, i.e. locks changed.
The important thing to think about
Marketing activities can take many forms, from physically attending events like networking meetings or exhibitions to advertising or taking feature space in publications or sponsorship of sporting events.
The important thing to think about before committing to any activity is, is it where your ‘ideal customer’ is likely to be?Â
If not, then what’s the point?
How to identify your Ideal Customer
While most businesses will have customers from many different sectors, there is likely to be one customer type who is your perfect, Ideal Customer.Â
This is the customer type who…
Is willing to pay your price – not all customers will pay for quality if a cheaper alternative will doÂ
Will travel - if necessary to use your services
Likes what you do and will tell others how good you areÂ
Will probably uses you multiple times.
You must consider as many aspects regarding the customer transaction as possible to identify your ‘ideal customer avatar’.
A customer who always tries to beat you down on price isn’t likely to be your best customer!
There may be more than one Avatar!
It’s possible and quite probable, you will have more than one ideal customer but it’s important that when you’re deciding how to communicate with them or market/advertise to them, you don’t try to make your message fit ALL ‘avatars’.Â
Top Tips:
Give one clear message to one target market group and modify it for others.Â
Clear focused marketing to a specific audience is always going to give a better return on your marketing investment than a general scattergun approach.
If you would like to find out more about identifying your Ideal Customer Avatar, why not contact us to arrange a Business Boost Strategy Session.
So if you have ever been compelled to ask 'So What The Heck is Marketing Anyway?' I hope this article has been somewhat useful in explaining the value of marketing in business and the benefits it brings.
After all, no matter how good you are at what you do, if nobody knows about you or how to get in touch with you, you'll never attract any business!