Thank you to all that participated in the joint venture March Marketing Madness! I had a great time working on this project and really enjoyed providing each of you with all the tips, tricks, and info on each of the major types of marketing.
So as the title suggests I wanted to discover how did marketing go mad and why? As we reviewed, Marketing has evolved from its early days of billboards and magazine ads to the age of direct mail and solicitation. With the emergence of the internet in the 90's business had a whole new platform to discover and tame. Email Marketing became the newest craze and the all mighty "list" was born! Now with social media and the ease of website creation every successful marketing plan includes the purchase of ads to lure potential clients to one of your various platforms and give them your pitch!
To learn more about the history (yall know I love history!) of marketing please go to the end of the post!
Although I can spend the rest of this blog telling you "how" to market I rather tell you "why."
Top 5 Reasons to Market in the Digital and Any Age:
- You have a good make that really good product/service - Easy right? Not so much. You can be one of those people that have the ability to sell snow to an Eskimo but you should do it in integrity. In other words although it is snow it better be the best snow around! Or you could be one those people who have the best new idea on the planet but you're too scared to tell anyone about it. Either extreme must be based upon the true fact that you have a good product/service and it is actually bringing the value to the customer. Let me repeat that! It MUST bring value to the customer not just $$$ to you! There is a sucker born every minute but on the internet it will catch up to you! Once you know you have a good product/service you should be able to talk about in confidence. Rather you OWE it to the world to talk about it! Not SELL it but SHARE it! If its what the people want and need they will buy it!
- You fulfill a NEED & WANT of your customer - Sometimes we forget one if not both of these rules. People sometimes buy what they NEED but always buy what they WANT. We're a pleasure driven species and once you do not fit one of basic tiers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs (see below) you MUST fulfill and NEED & WANT to get the deal. So what's the difference? A NEED based service/product focuses on the functionality only car service, toothpaste, shoes. But a NEED & WANT based product/service like Louis Vuitton or Lamborghini focuses on the desire of most pleasure seekers to have (or appear to have) luxury, status, success, and above all else attention (which my Course of Miracle lovers will tell you is a cry for love but hey that's another blog post). Or we can talk about the Coke or Pepsi debate neither fulfill a need but they fulfill an WANT and have convinced their loyal followers that their brand is the one that understands the customer and is the best.
- Your product/service provides benefit to a group of people - Beyond NEED & WANT who is your customer. Can you really be successful beyond your circle of friends (and for most businesses your friends unfortunately may not be your consumers...)? If your product is so specific that only 5 people in the world WANT it yet alone may be able to afford it you may not be in business long... Your business should provide a benefit to the world and hopefully a specific niche of it! Women, men, children, inner-city kids, rural families, expecting moms, shopaholics, scuba divers, somebody and really a group of somebodies need to benefit. And as all marketers will tell you once you define and determine that group don't spend time talking to other groups. Its not that people outside your groups wouldn't want your service but once youR group wants it you won't need other people to buy in.
- Your product/service fulfills a purpose within YOU - Yes we want you to bring value to the customer, fulfill their needs and wants but if it doesn't make you happy why do it? Please do not get into business without wanting to fulfill a purpose within yourself. And secondly please make it a positively motivated purpose i.e. not just to show so-and-so that you can do it. A business (or non-profit) that is rooted in a purpose based desire will always be successful because the leader just loves what they do and want to share that passion with the world. People support people AND products/services so when someone encounters you and your business remember if they can't see why you love it why should they?
- Cause if not you then who? - Give it a try, Put yourself out there. Make a mistake! Every step along the way will increase your wisdom, knowledge, and give you the experience you need to grow a successful business!
So the next time you sit at your computer and think about your next marketing campaign please remember "why" you're marketing and the "how" should hopefully not drive you mad!
Kinda Cheesy but gets the job done! Thanks Tim @ http://timvandevall.com/printable-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-chart/
