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Marketing Basics - Wise Counsel 

With a little study we can see that there are several concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is 'the diversity of activities used in assuring that we are meeting the needs of our clients and that we are getting a valuable return in response.' A major misconception of marketing is that it only entails 'advertising your product or service.' Advertising is important, however, it is only one component in the process of marketing.

Developing a good understanding of the needs and wants of your customers and developing a plan that addresses those needs is the essential element of 'marketing.' For a business owner to want his business to grow is a natural aspiration. Giving close attention to 'organic growth' is the most effective way to help your business grow.

One of the most effective ways to grow or expand a business is to concentrate on 'organic growth.' For us to understand 'organic growth', we need to be aware of the fact that a business is a living organism. We can either let it tend to itself or we can discover what its needs are to help it grow. When determining what the business needs, we can determine what we need to do to make it thrive.

We should look at two basic components of marketing in order to get a better idea of the things that we need to create a successful business. The first component of marketing that we need to consider is 'developing a marketing plan.' The second component is the 'ongoing promotion.' One mistake that many business owners make is to create a product or service and immediately jump into an advertising campaign. When we define these two basic components, you'll understand why this mistake can be a disappointing and costly one.

For the survival of your business, it is extremely important to develop a 'marketing strategy' or 'marketing plan.' Refined research and analysis are the first steps to developing the 'marketing plan' best suited to your business. Don't let this frustrate you. This is not as grueling as it sounds. It may take some time and effort on your part but you will find that it is well worth every minute.

To help us get started, let's begin by looking at a simplified explanation of 'marketing analysis.' We should apply two of Solomon's Keys to Success at this point.

Proverbs 1:5 (NLT) "Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance" Guidance or wise counsel can be found in many forms. We should also remember, for those of us who think we understand everything, " Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others." Proverbs 12:15 (NLT) In a nutshell marketing analysis involves the following:

A well built marketing analysis involves the following:

1.) Determining our 'market' or the groups of potential clients that exist,

2.) Decide which of these groups of customers fit our marketing preference (target markets),

3.) Learning the needs of our target market,

4.) Choosing the best products or services that might meet the needs of our target market,

5.) Determine the customers' possible uses for those products and services,

6.) Keep track of your competitors' activities,

7.) Determine the pricing structure that best fits your product and/or service and

8.) Developing a plan for the distribution of our products and services to our target markets.

Various methods of 'market research' are used to gather information about markets, target markets and their needs, competitors, etc. A little Internet research will reveal many sources of specific information. We must remember to target our searches. We do this by beginning from a broad area of possibilities and with each subsequent search we can get more specific until we have discovered as much as possible about our market in general and our target market. The resulting information will become our 'niche' market, our specific area of a market that is best for our product or service.

When you have successfully developed your marketing plan, look at your 'ongoing promotions', which may include advertising, press releases, public relations, sales materials and customer service to name only a few. These terms can become confusing: advertising, marketing, promotion, public relations and publicity. These terms are often used interchangeably. They refer to different -- but similar tasks.

Look at a list of simplified definition of each term.

1.) Advertising -- presenting a product (or service) to potential and current customers. Advertising should be focused on one particular product or service. It is important to understand that an advertising plan for one product might be different from that for another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, website banners, etc.

2.) Promotion -- Promotion can be defined as the tasks that maintain the product in the minds of the customer (product recognition). The ongoing effort of advertising, sales and public relations are often considered aspects of promotions.

3.) Public Relations -- ongoing processes we use to ensure that our business has a strong and positive public image. This is referred to as "PR."

4.) Publicity -- being mentioned in the media. This is always the review of someone else but can include news releases.

These are a few of the many terms that need to be learned. The health and well being of our business, your business, is determined by the extent of diligent study that you do and the application of the principles that you learn through study. To best know your product or service or clients or competitors, you must develop a sincere determination to become as diligent as possible.

Remember these few examples of Solomon's Proverbs to help you develop a growing and successful business.

Proverbs 10:4 (NLT) "Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich."

Proverbs 12:24 (NASB) "The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor."

Proverbs 13:4 (The Amplified Bible) "The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied."

Proverbs 21:5 (The Amplified Bible) "The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want."

Commit this last Proverb to memory. It will serve you well.

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