I deal with professional people within the marketing communications, advertising and public relations field every day. From graphic artists, to website developers and copy writers. They are good, intelligent people; intuitive, intellectual and creative. But, it is always baffling to me how many of them forget the basic fundamentals of marketing or, what I call Marketing 101.
Let me start with a definition of marketing. There are countless industry terminologies and acronyms that can make your head spin, with more being added and augmented everyday – evidenced by one look at Wikipedia or about.com . However, don't let that intimidate you. Marketing can still be boiled down to the definition from freshman business class, “The social and managerial processes by which products (goods or services) and value are exchanged in order to fulfill the needs and wants of individuals or groups.” (http://www.wikipedia.org).
Simple right? I like to use this metaphor to ground the subject for my clients, Imagine if you will, a farmer in the 16th century with a cart full of tomatoes, in the town square, trying to sell his goods. But nobody is buying. Hmmm. So, he gets a cloth, polishes up his biggest and ripest, red tomato and begins shouting, “I've got the most delicious red tomatoes in town at a great price!” Now, what has he done? He has solved the mystery of marketing. He also used the Four P's of the trade.
The Four P's stand for product, price, placement and promotion. The product is the tomato, the price is simply a “great price,” which is smart because it is ambiguous and leaves room to negotiate. The placement is the town square and the promotion is him yelling and holding up the best of his crop. Now that's marketing.
Now, picture yourself in 2007 with your company product or service. You are standing at a trade show. You are nervous; you want to impress potential customers passing by your booth. How do you successfully market to them? Keep it simple – this is Marketing 101. When the next person or group comes by, stand up and look presentable, smile, make eye contact and be inviting. Have your promotional pitch ready and your prices memorized. Ready? Pitch. Today, this is called interactive marketing .
Try to make small talk. I tell some of my clients to pretend they are in church or at a bar and they really want to find out more about the person they are talking to. Try to see if there are any needs or wants that match to the features or benefits of what you are marketing. Remember, not everyone is meant to buy your product or service.
Of course, marketing today goes even further with the advent of the Internet and agencies finding new ways to spin the term. But it always comes back to basic, fundamental, Marketing 101 that works every time.
Let me start with a definition of marketing. There are countless industry terminologies and acronyms that can make your head spin, with more being added and augmented everyday – evidenced by one look at Wikipedia or about.com . However, don't let that intimidate you. Marketing can still be boiled down to the definition from freshman business class, “The social and managerial processes by which products (goods or services) and value are exchanged in order to fulfill the needs and wants of individuals or groups.” (http://www.wikipedia.org).
Simple right? I like to use this metaphor to ground the subject for my clients, Imagine if you will, a farmer in the 16th century with a cart full of tomatoes, in the town square, trying to sell his goods. But nobody is buying. Hmmm. So, he gets a cloth, polishes up his biggest and ripest, red tomato and begins shouting, “I've got the most delicious red tomatoes in town at a great price!” Now, what has he done? He has solved the mystery of marketing. He also used the Four P's of the trade.
The Four P's stand for product, price, placement and promotion. The product is the tomato, the price is simply a “great price,” which is smart because it is ambiguous and leaves room to negotiate. The placement is the town square and the promotion is him yelling and holding up the best of his crop. Now that's marketing.
Now, picture yourself in 2007 with your company product or service. You are standing at a trade show. You are nervous; you want to impress potential customers passing by your booth. How do you successfully market to them? Keep it simple – this is Marketing 101. When the next person or group comes by, stand up and look presentable, smile, make eye contact and be inviting. Have your promotional pitch ready and your prices memorized. Ready? Pitch. Today, this is called interactive marketing .
Try to make small talk. I tell some of my clients to pretend they are in church or at a bar and they really want to find out more about the person they are talking to. Try to see if there are any needs or wants that match to the features or benefits of what you are marketing. Remember, not everyone is meant to buy your product or service.
Of course, marketing today goes even further with the advent of the Internet and agencies finding new ways to spin the term. But it always comes back to basic, fundamental, Marketing 101 that works every time.