Marketing is a concept that can sometimes cause confusion. But quite simply, it’s the process of getting your product or service ‘out there’ and wanted.
You’ll often hear the words sales and marketing spoken in the same breath, but it’s useful to be aware of the difference between them.
A ‘sale’ happens at the end of a well planned and thought out ‘marketing’ process. The sale might occur following a conversation during which you ‘close the sale’, or it may happen online with the click of a button. Regardless of how the sale is made, it’s marketing that ultimately led you to that end result – the sale and cash in your pocket.
How does marketing work?
As a result of your marketing efforts you’ll grab your potential customer’s attention and build a beautiful relationship with them. Whenever they see or hear about you (provided it’s positive of course!), that relationship will blossom and you’ll become quite attached to one another. The more time you spend together, the more you become firm friends. And if all goes to plan, your new found friend will at some point turn into a loyal, paying customer. They’ll turn into a loyal customer not just because you have a product or service they want, but because they want to buy that product or service from you. Happy customers resulting in happy sales figures.
So, how can you market your business?
There are several forms of marketing, and a combination of all is recommended to grow your business. Never rely on just one. Marketing activities include networking, public relations, advertising, search engine marketing, direct mail and newsletters.
