Marketing can be super complicated, and that’s why a lot of people struggle to understand it. It’s not always easy to tell where marketing ends and other stuff like PR, Branding, Sales, Product Development, and Advertising begin. Like, Advertising is only one part of Marketing, you know?
We often come across phrases like:
- “So what do I do now? Do we improve our brand awareness, increase web traffic or start generating leads? Should I do everything at the same time?”
- “As a solopreneur I am constantly juggling multiple responsibilities. It can be challenging to keep up with everything, especially when it comes to growing my business and marketing.”
- “My co-founder and I found it relatively easy to create our product, but we’re currently facing the challenge of how to effectively market it.”
So, in this article, we’re gonna try to break down the complexity of marketing and make it a little easier to understand. Sound good? Let’s get into it!
Marketing Fundamentals
What is Marketing? You can find many variations of marketing definitions, most missing one aspect or another. Here is a version that we think is comprehensive and short enough:
“Marketing is the process of getting a product or service from a company to its end customers from product development through to the final sale and post-purchase support.” – Heidi Cohen.
The ultimate goal of marketing is to drive business growth by attracting and retaining new customers.
To achieve this, marketing must identify the specific pains and desires of a target audience and help develop a product or service that meets those needs. It must then create awareness and demand for the product or service among the target audience, providing a seamless user experience from the pre-purchase stage through to post-purchase support.
In the marketing world, the Four Ps – product, price, place, and promotion – are essential components that are crucial to successfully creating and promoting a product or service. Marketing is a complex field responsible for these four areas, which are just the tip of the iceberg, with much more depth and breadth beneath the surface.
Welcome to the Marketing Universe
To help simplify things, we will showcase the complexity through a few lists. Although you don’t need to read them all in detail, take note of how extensive the information can be. In our upcoming articles, we will delve into marketing strategies and tactics, one by one.
Why is this important? You don’t need to be an expert in all marketing strategies, but if you’re serious about growing your business, you and your team must implement a few of them.
The challenge lies in determining which ones and how to apply them. This is where understanding Marketing theories becomes essential. It enables you to make informed decisions about hiring and which strategies to focus on.
Sometimes, a tactic or channel can be perceived as a strategy, and vice versa. It depends on how much emphasis you place on a particular activity. For example, product-led marketing could be your strategy if it makes up 80% or more of your marketing focus, or it could be one of your tactics if you’re equally focused on other strategies.
Marketing strategies
- Brand awareness
- Lead generation
- Increasing brand awareness
- Acquiring new customers
- Retaining existing customers
- Copy the actions of a certain competitor
- Increasing customer loyalty
- Increasing sales
- Enter a new market
- Launch a new product
- Outcompete a certain competitor
- Product led marketing
- Innovation
Marketing frameworks:
- Sales Funnels
- Fly wheel
- Inbound vs.Outbound marketing
- Owned, Earned, Paid Media
- SWOT analysis
- Pirate Metrics or “AARRR!”
- AIDA
- etc.
Marketing tactics | Marketing channels | Marketing Acronyms |
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In our next articles, we will dive deeper into the different marketing strategies and tactics that you can use to grow your business. We will also show you how to make informed decisions and take action based on your goals, resources, and data. Stay tuned for more valuable insights and tips on how to master marketing.
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