To Market, To Market, To Buy a Big Ad Campaign...

You have a great idea. You design an innovative product. Now how do you let people know about it? A clever ad...a magazine article...a tradeshow booth...a direct mail piece...

What does marketing mean to you? Many business owners don't know the difference between advertising and marketing, public relations and marketing, promotion and marketing, or even sales and marketing.

Companies typically confuse advertising with marketing. We, the public, see thousands of ads every day, so that's what we're most familiar with. But marketing is what most companies really need.

Marketing is much more than a catchy slogan or a new logo. To market right requires research, careful planning, and strategic thinking - and it usually involves all aspects of a client's business.

To be effective, any marketing vehicle (including ads) needs specific target audiences and must clearly distinguish your company, products and services from the competition. You need the right strategy in place to accomplish this - and from that strategy, planning and development will come, followed by implementation and tracking.

The New Basics

Marketing 101 taught us the four Ps:

Product: offering the right product or service at the right time.

Price: based on what your prospective customers are willing to pay.

Promotion: creating and communicating powerful messages that lead to sales.

Place: making your product or service available in appropriate locations.

We add a fifth "P": People. Good marketing means fully understanding your customers' needs and expectations - and always providing them with great service!

You need to define who your customers are and what they're looking for - and then figure out how you can do it better than their current suppliers (your competition).

How well does your product meet your customers' expectations? Do you deliver on your promotions' promises? What about follow-up service? Do you respond quickly to customers' needs?

You could have a top-notch marketing campaign in place, but if your company's human assets don't follow suit with your marketing message and corporate personality, your customers will quickly realize that and move on...to your competition. Customers have more choices today, which mean they have more reasons to leave one brand to try another.

Everyone in your organization must understand your marketing strategy and buy into it. From your receptionist to your sales reps, your vice presidents to your support staff - everyone's first priority must be to satisfy customers. They must remember that their actions and attitudes are a direct reflection on your brand's image. And they must be flexible, just like the plan itself...

Evaluate and Adjust

A marketing plan should never be set in stone. It needs to be able to adjust as your business changes - like when you introduce a new product or acquire a new company. You may also need to adapt to changes in economic conditions or in your specific industry - new competitors, new purchasing trends, new ways of thinking, etc.

Evaluation is a critical step to determining how well your marketing efforts are working. What's your ROI (Return on Investment) for setting up a booth at a trade show? Would you be better off sending a few representatives to network - and volunteering to be speakers or panelists? Which types of promotions produced the most sales? By enhancing customer service and support features on your Web site, did your customer satisfaction ratings improve or remain the same?

Where do you start?

Most business owners find it challenging to figure out where, when, and how much to invest in marketing.

First, closely identify your customers. Learn all you can about them - what they want from a product like yours, what they expect in terms of service, what kind of communication is most likely to reach them. You can make phone calls or employ more sophisticated tools such as focus groups and surveys. And you don't have to do all this work yourself...

So whether you're doing it yourself or using outside resources, now you're ready to create your marketing plan. What should go into that plan? Read Part 2 of this article for more information.

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For more information about how Pinpoint Positioning can help you remove the barriers to marketing success, please call Karin K. Schaff Glazier at 585.330.1811. You can also e-mail her at:

karin@pinptpositioning.com