It starts with market
research – know your market place
- Companies that offer a similar product or service
- Pricing – lowest to highest – and why the difference
- The consumer and what they are actually looking for.
With that
information in hand, marketing moves into development, the ‘D’ of
‘R&D’. It’s where you look at
whether your products or services fulfil current buyer needs. Do you need something new or to revamp an
existing offer? How does it satisfy the
consumer demands and what can you offer that is better in design, pricing,
functionality than your competitors?
Now finance joins
the party and looks at cost of sale, competitive pricing, profit margins, etc.
Now the action
moves over to what most people (including me at the time) consider to be
‘marketing’. That’s the advertising,
promotional activities to raise the consumer’s awareness of the exciting new
offer! In those days this would include
press ads, maybe TV ads, getting coverage in the relevant media – publications,
etc. PR – on a broader basis, getting
key people (usually the CEO) interviewed or authoring thought-leader articles,
and things like getting the organisation entered for awards – and, ideally,
winning one or two. In today’s world,
social media, blogs, video material and podcasts all play a part.
The launch campaign
is critical and will launch your new product or service into the right communities.
On the back of this
the sales team now takes on a critical role, contacting either consumers
directly or wholesales and retailers who will stock your product or white label
your service.
I remember there
being a lot of arguments – about whether marketing is part of sales, or sales
is a part of marketing. I was taught
that sales is part of marketing, but it doesn’t really matter – as long as
sales are made! The way I see it a
business is really a huge marketing machine.
Every part of it should be focused on delivering value to the customer.
Someone once quoted
Karl Albrecht to me ‘If you’re not serving the customer you’d better be serving
someone who is’.
