2. The Business of Marketing
Table of Contents
2. Introduction
2. A seven-step
programme to Creative
Marketing
2. Marketing lessons
3. Ways to save
marketing money:
4. Ways to obtain free
research
4. Media Lessons
5. Planning
5. The Process
5. Further Information
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With the compliments of Your Profit Coach
3. The Business of Marketing
Introduction The difference
weapons, you must be creative in how you use
them. between a
Everyone knows how important marketing is
"feature" and a
to any business. Extraordinary businesses
"benefit"
Marketing lessons
understand this well and get close to their Let's explain this by
customers. Ordinary ones just try to sell. looking at a "sharp
Remember these key marketing lessons: knife".
We call the process of setting up and running Successful marketing can only be When you focus on the
an extraordinary business “The Journey to engaged once you have a marketing word "sharp", that is a
Results”. It involves being creative with your plan. feature of the knife.
marketing plan. When you start developing a marketing But when you talk about
plan you should start to use the word what the knife can do
positioning. (such as by saying "This
is a knife that cuts bread
A seven-step Positioning means determining exactly
what niche your offering is intended to
easily"), you have
focused on what the
fill.
programme to
knife can do - in other
words, the benefit that it
You must then ask and answer: Who is provides.
Creative Marketing
my Target Market? Three target
markets have emerged in the Nineties:
Here’s a seven-step programme for you to Women, Older people and ethnic
groups.
follow to assure yourself of a successful
marketing outcome: When you have clearly focused on your
market or markets, you can clarify your
marketing position. Once you zero in on
1. Find the inherent "drama" within
that position for your product or
what you are offering.
service, you should measure it against
The reason why people will want to
four criteria:
buy from you should give you a clue as
1) Does it offer a benefit my target
to the inherent “drama” in your
really wants?
product or service.
2) Is it a real “honest-to-goodness”
2. Translate that inherent drama into
benefit?
a meaningful benefit.
3) Does it truly separate me from
Always remember that people buy
my competitors?
benefits not features.
4) Is it unique and/or difficult to
3. State your benefits as believably
imitate?
as possible.
There's a world of difference between Until you are completely satisfied with
honestly and believability. You must go your answers, then you should continue
beyond honesty, beyond the barrier searching for another position.
that advertising has erected by its Just before you start on your marketing
tendency to exaggerate, and state plan, you should practice thinking big.
your benefit in such a way that will be
accepted beyond doubt. Your finished plan could be 10 pages
4. Get people's attention. long, but to start with, make it one
People only pay attention to things paragraph long.
that interest them. It should be seven sentences long:
5. Motivate your audience to do 1) The first sentence tells you the
something purpose of the plan.
Tell them to visit the store, to phone 2) The second tells you how you'll
the office etc. You want to tell them achieve this purpose, focusing
exactly what you want them to do. upon your benefits.
6. Be sure you are communicating 3) The third tells you the target
clearly. markets or market.
Recognise that people aren't really 4) The fourth (the longest
thinking about your business and that sentence) tells you the
they'll only be paying attention half the weapons you will employ.
time when they're reading your advert 5) The fifth tells you the niche.
or other promotional literature. 6) The sixth tells your identity.
"Knock yourself out" to make sure you 7) The seventh tells you your
are putting your message across. budget, expressed as a % of
7. Measure your finished your projected gross revenues.
advertisement against your
It must be simple and be easily
strategy.
implementable.
Your strategy is your blueprint. If your
advert fails to fulfil the strategy, then
it is a lousy ad. Once you have given your plan the proper
thought, brevity and focus, you can expand it
Now that you have creative marketing to those areas pertinent to your business:
2
With the compliments of Your Profit Coach
4. The Business of Marketing
Ways to save
While expanding it the prime purpose
of maximising profits must not be
forgotten.
Profits are very different from sales. marketing money:
Anyone can obtain sales, but it takes a Here are some tips for you about how you can
guerrilla to constantly create honest make your marketing budget go further and
profits.
not waste money:
These profits will be achieved if you
clearly state your goals, all of them,
including timing, budgets for Don't feel that you must constantly
everything, and projections. Without change your marketing plan
projections you won't have a measuring This costs unnecessary production money and
stick. dilutes the overall effect of your marketing.
You might want to consider what Stick with one programme until it loses
market share you want, what key pulling power.
personnel may be necessary, what
inside services you'll need and what
outside services you'll need to Make use of the concept of barter
negotiate for the personnel for the Apply this concept if a newspaper does not
inside services. want what you are selling, but you could trade
with someone who has what the paper wants.
You should re-examine the marketing plan Therefore you could get your ads at a fraction
yearly, whether brief or expanded. Your goal of the price.
should be to maintain it – and you should
never stop marketing. Here is a list setting out You can also save money by getting
the reasons why you should continue: access to co-operative advertising
The market is constantly changing. funds
When you stop advertising, you miss
evolving opportunities.
Many large advertisers pay cash fees to small
advertisers who mention the name of the large
People forget quickly. Remember
people are bombarded with thousands
advertiser or show its logo in their ads. This
of messages every day. could increase the credibility of your ads.
Your competition isn't quitting!
Set up a P.I or a P.O arrangement
Marketing strengthens your identity.
When you stop marketing, you short- with an advertising medium
change your reputation, reliability and Make your efforts more cost-effective (P.I =
the confidence people have in you. Per inquiry, P.O = Per order)
Marketing is essential to survival and
growth. When you cease marketing you People enjoy being asked about
are on the path to non-existence. themselves and enjoy talking about
Marketing enables you to hold onto themselves.
your old customers. Many enterprises
survive on Repeat and referral
Take advantage of this by asking questions of
business. If the old customers forget your customers. It can give you expensive
about you, you are doomed. research data for free.
Marketing maintains morale.
Marketing gives you the edge over
Take advantage of "gang-runs" or
competitors who have ceased “run-ons”
marketing. This applies to your printers if you are patient.
Marketing allows your business to
continue to operate. Being in a rush is a deterrent to
You have invested money that you good marketing and to inexpensive
stand to lose. If you stop marketing all marketing
the money you've spent is lost, and if
you want to start again, you have to
Avoid rushes like the plague. There are three
start from scratch. main variables in saving money in marketing:
Quality, Economy and Speed. To be truly
successful in marketing, the first two should
be selected.
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With the compliments of Your Profit Coach
5. The Business of Marketing
Ways to obtain free The Ten Most Important
Marketing Secrets
research: 1. You must have commitment to your
marketing programme.
Here are the main questions that you should 2. You must think of that programme as an
think about: investment.
3. You must see to it that your programme
What should you market – is it your is consistent.
goods, or your services or both? 4. You must make you prospects confident
Should your marketing feature some in your firm.
sort of price advantage? 5. You must be patient in order to make a
commitment.
Should you emphasise yourselves, the
6. You must see that marketing is an
quality of your offerings, your selection, assortment of weapons.
your service, or merely the existence of 7. You must know that profits come
your business. subsequent to the sale.
Should you take advantage of your 8. You must run your firm to be convenient
competition or ignore all competitors? for your customers.
9. You must put an element of amazement
Exactly who are your competitors? into your marketing.
Who are your best prospects? 10. You must use measurement to judge
the effect the effectiveness of your
What income groups do they represent? weapons.
What motivates them to buy?
Where do they live?
What do they read or watch or listen to
in the way of media? Media lessons
You must run the right marketing campaign in
The correct answers to the above list would be the right media. How do you tell right from
invaluable, but would need great research and wrong?
at a great cost. As you probably don’t have an
Radio: The most intimate form of
unlimited budget, you’ll have to be creative in
media. Often, it takes place on a one-
how you get the right answers at an affordable to-one basis (such as in a car or at
cost. This is how you might go about it. home).
First, go to the local library and ask the Newspaper: Prime medium for
librarian for books that have information for disseminating the news. Advertising in
you. Some of these books will have market the newspaper, other than in the
studies that apply to you and your industry. classified sections, should be newsy,
Others will study products or services such as interruptive, and to the point.
yours. Magazines: Media in which readers
become involved. You can put forth
more information because readers will
Secondly ask your customers! Your customers
be more willing to take more reading a
have the answers. Send out questionnaires. magazine ad rather than a newspaper
Better still, work with them and watch what ad.
they do. Run a series of CABS (Customer Television: Most comprehensive of the
Advisory Boards) – check with us for more media. It enables you to convince your
details. prospects by means of actual
demonstrations. Cable and Satellite TV
The information will be invaluable. It will has the put the medium within the
reach of all advertisers. This is not an
show you what kind of people your prospects invitation to play around with TV. It is
are, how to reach them through media, how to more of an invitation to give serious
appeal to them etc. etc. These are the most consideration to what some describe as
common and inexpensive methods, but are not "the undisputed heavyweight champion
the only types. Remember to check for of marketing".
important data at your local Chamber of Direct mail: Allows you take the most
Commerce, any industry organisation to careful aim at your target audience.
which you belong and all the industry This can be very costly if misused. To
successfully overcome problems you
publications. must follow up with follow-up mailings,
with telemarketing and with unique
mailing packages.
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With the compliments of Your Profit Coach
