MARKETING
WHAT IS MARKETING
Many small businesses are quite successful with a sales-driven approach to generating revenue. This relies on individual contact – things like cold calling and networking at the top of the funnel.
But, if the company wants to grow, that system will eventually break down.
The best way to think about marketing is to consider it a machine. Like any machine, it takes time to build, and you have to know what you’re doing to create it.
“Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value. It is the art of helping your customer become better off.”
- Philip Kotler
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MARKETING
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Sales will be more predictable. Machine-driven sales are not as prone to be undermined by people getting busy and having other priorities.
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Sales will be more profitable. A healthy pipeline leads to more control of your margins.
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Sales will be more reliable. You’ll know the formula for getting sales, so you will be able to use that formula to generate sales when you need them.
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Sales will be more scalable. The foundation of growth is predictable, reliable, profitable revenue.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF MARKETING
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Generating Leads
Finding prospects who have the needs and problems that you can address and solve.
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Nurturing Leads
Engaging and educating prospects to support their buying process.
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Converting Leads
Structuring the sales process so that prospects buy from you.
Although those elements are simple, marketing can be confusing because there are so many different aspects of it.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF MARKETING
It’s hard to cut through the noise. We all experience it – a constant barrage of communication and messages.
Marketers are professionals at bending the truth. It can be challenging to get a straight answer from marketing people, and even more so marketing agencies. You don't want to be lumped with this negative view from your prospects.
Marketing channels are constantly changing. A tactic that worked well last year could be played out this year. A channel that hasn’t worked last year could become favorable this year. The media landscape and prospect behavior is constantly changing.
There are so many options. There are an overwhelming amount of marketing tactics to consider – mailers, online marketing, ebooks, social media, and dozens more.
WHAT IS THE ROI OF MARKETING
Better leads
When your marketing machine is working, your leads will be a better fit for your offerings…and they’ll be more ready to buy
More consistent leads
An effective marketing program will generate leads more consistently than piecemeal efforts
Growth
Marketing is the engine of business growth once a company gets past 10-20 employees
Business value
The saleable value of your business is tied to your ability to systematically generate revenue and serve clients.