When I talk to people about marketing I have discovered that everyone has a very different idea of what it means – is it advertising, PR, or maybe telesales?

I thought it would be useful to start with a definition of marketing: According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing, “Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.”

Marketing covers many aspects of all your businesses including:
*Getting to know what your customers want
*Improving and extending existing products or services
*Developing and introducing new products and services

So, it’s probably safe to say that you all do a lot of marketing already…

The different aspects of marketing are often referred to as the “marketing mix” or the “7 Ps”. They are:
*Product
*Price
*Place (distribution)
*Promotion (this is the communications element)
*People (anyone who has contact with customers is part of your marketing)
*Process (service and delivery – does it work?)
*Physical Evidence (your shop, website, testimonials – reassure the customer that you can deliver)

What is often considered as “marketing” is only part of the story. The promotion of your business, or the communication of what it offers, must work with all the other aspects of the marketing mix, so that your message is consistent with the reality of your product or service.

When you are starting any communications programme, there are five key points to consider:
*What is it you want to say – eg, new product, special offer
*Who you want to tell – don’t advertise women’s shoes to men! Proper targeting is crucial
*How to present your message – which methods to use (mailings, PR, ads)
*Where to distribute your message – geographical area and media – online or offline
*When to send the message – timing is very important

Once you have answered these questions, you also have a few more tricky issues to consider:
*Style and tone – is it formal, professional, chatty, exciting…?
*What response you want to generate – awareness, enquiries, sales?
*What follow up you will need to do to to achieve the response
*What is your USP – your unique selling proposition – focus on this and nothing else

Use the AIDA model to make sure that your communications…
*Grab the audience’s Attention
*Keep them Interested
*Generate a Desire for your product/service
*Encourage them to take Action
by Julie Mitchell-Mehta, Début Marketing

First published on Everywoman

www.everywoman.com