As a business owner, the word marketing can mean quite a lot. Traditionally thought of as just sales or advertising, the meaning of marketing is actually much wider. One of our business networking group members recently asked the question, what is marketing all about? We put this to our group members and were rewarded with some brilliant answers! To see the post yourself and ask and answer as many questions as you can, you can join our free business networking group too!
What Does Marketing Mean to You?
Running a business in New Zealand requires a lot of skills and one of these is marketing. In order to promote their business and make sales, owners need to undertake some form of marketing. But what that means to owners can vary hugely. We asked our group members for their thoughts and this is what they said:
- Chris Mercer from MBP Advisors + Accountants - For me it means building trust. The biggest obstacle we have to closing a 'sale' is building trust. We cant exactly give out free samples so the only way to do that is to show some of our value and skills through marketing.
- Sam Frost from Sam Frost Digital Marketing Consultant - 1.Identify the pain points/motivators in your target audience (so you can tailor your message). 2. Identify where your target audience is. 3. Get in front of them.
- Simon Gears from Graphic Lab - Marketing is about being "front-of-mind" to your target audience. About being remembered and accessible.
- Kristy Palmer from Pasithea -
- Srinivas Kalakota from Trade More NZ - Marketing to me is adding value to customers, creating great shopping experience which would lead to outcome that’s is a sale.
- Davian Lorson from Rooftops - my understanding of marketing is that it is less about the promoting of a product or service and more about understanding who will best suit it and how to find them. I did a marketing of the arts course at university and started it with a little cynicism about how much it would justify the act of selling out. but I actually really enjoyed it because the majority of it was focused around how to find people who would be into what you were already creating, and how to highlight the parts of your work that they would be into the most.
- Reuben Jackson from Website World - Identifying what people would want to buy our stuff. Not everyone wants or needs to buy everything available. Generally our products suit a particular type of person, who lives somewhere special. Then we think, how do we get those targeted people to buy our stuff.
- Jackie Procter from Spotty Lizard - Creating a positive impression of both my business and myself in the eyes of past, present and potential clients.
There was a common theme coming through, that while the sale was important, owners were also focused on building positive relationships with their audience and providing value to them first.
Understanding & Using The Four P's of Marketing
In the 1960's, E Jerome McCarthy created the four P's of marketing. Each P (product, price, place, promotion) explains how marketing interacts with each part of a business. They also demonstrate just how varied marketing is.
- Product - once you have an idea for a product, you first need to find out it's viability first. Who is the target audience? Which social platforms does your audience use which would be viable for you to promote it on? Does the product need any modifications to make it more desirable?
- Price - what are your competitors charging for a similar product? What is the ideal price for your product?
- Place - where is the best place to sell your product? A retail store, an eCommerce store or both? Will it be sold nationally or internationally?
- Promotion - what kind of advertising will you do? What offers will you make to promote your product?
For some great help with marketing your business, come and ask your questions to the members of our online networking group today! Don't forget to list your business in our business directory for an extra marketing boost too!
