Let’s face it, to the average business person, marketing equals promotion. It's often used interchangeably with advertisement. But, really, what is marketing in business?
In this article, we're going to teach the basics of marketing in business in order to provide a framework for getting the most from your marketing strategy.
- What is marketing in business?
- Marketing is a conversation
- Relationship between branding and marketing
- Methods of digital marketing
- So what's next?
What is marketing in business?
Marketing is what you say and how you say it when you want to explain how awesome your product is and why people should buy it.
Marketing is an ad. Marketing is a brochure. Marketing is a press release. And more recently, Marketing is a Facebook page or a Twitter account.
Marketing in business sits at the intersection of the business and the customer – the great arbiter of the self-interests of the business and the needs of the buyer.
In various circles, marketing is wrongly considered as a substitute term used to explain promotion and advertising. Though promotion and advertising are two of the most dominant aspects of marketing, the complete definition of marketing includes several other aspects and factors. Marketing in business includes a thorough study and implementation of innovative ideas to help businesses in the creation of brand identity and communication.
In essence, marketing is based on the principles of effective communication, which includes the conveyance of brand values to consumers to convince them to utilise one of your services or products. It also covers a comprehensive study and analysis of your consumer.
Marketing is a conversation
Marketing is a conversation that starts between two people who don’t know each other well and great conversations lead to understanding someone's needs. Great insights like this lead to amazing products being delivered through engaging customer experiences. This is marketing.
When we meet someone we don’t know, we ask them questions. We try to get to know them. We try to understand their dreams, problems and needs. We don't (or shouldn't) just talk about ourselves unless there's a genuine interest from the other person to learn more about us. But this only stems from having authentic and honest empathy towards the other person. We have to actually care about this other person to earn their trust.
Marketing in business works in the exact same way and the brands who are successful are those who put their customers ahead of their desire to sell more.
They show potential customers that they are interested in solving real problems. They don’t just act like they care. They actually care. They genuinely seek to help their customer to improve their lives through their content, their expertise, their passion and, if they are lucky, through the products and/or services they sell.
When given a choice, we only buy from brands we know, like and trust.
Relationship between branding and marketing
Before we begin to understand how these two terms interact with one another, let's briefly define branding.
Branding exists in the mind of your customer. Branding is a judgment, a sentiment, a feeling that is created by the sum of all the interactions we have with a company.
Yes, it includes your logo, company colours and other design elements but your brand is much bigger than just these elements.
Marketing in business can impact your brand in a positive or negative way. Marketing can help create a positive brand experience by having positive, helpful, and empathetic conversations with your customers.
Marketers can hurt brands when they interrupt TV shows and web experiences with poorly developed and thought-through ad campaigns.
Marketing helps build brands through great experiences.
Great brands show us who they are in the experiences they deliver. Marketing in business seeks to understand what a great experience should be. Advertising interrupts our experiences and sometimes we don’t hate them for it.
Methods of digital marketing
So let’s look at some of the different methods of online marketing in business that are available to today’s companies:
- Content marketing – Publishing content in different forms to build brand awareness and nurture relationships with customers. Examples of content marketing include blogs, posts on social media, infographics, and Youtube videos. It’s usually thought of as a type of digital marketing but it can also take place offline.
- Search engine optimisation – Commonly known as SEO, this is the process of optimising the content on your website to make it more visible to search engines with the intention of ranking it higher.
- Social media marketing – Using social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to build relationships with existing customers and reach a wider audience through digital word-of-mouth.
- Email marketing – Sending regular email communications to users who have signed up to your list to build relationships and drive sales.
- Influencer marketing – Using individuals with a high profile and many followers on social media to promote your product or service.
So what's next?
You now have the answer to the question, "what is marketing in business?" but you're wondering how best to implement it in your business. Developing a marketing strategy and putting it into action can be challenging and daunting so let's have a conversation.
We offer a free consultancy session to help empower you to grow your business sales.
We also have a team of expert marketers, designers, social media gurus and other individuals who can take your marketing approach to the next level. We can help with:
- Developing a marketing strategy
- Social media management
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Google and Facebook ads
- Flyers, posters and other graphics
- Brand development
Learn more about our marketing services and get in contact with our team today.
