Marketing is the process of customers and clients who are interested in your products or services and why they should choose it over your competitors. The key is to use the right marketing method and the right marketing message to educate and influence your customers about determining the value of your product or service and communicating that information to them.

Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

It is essential to know the difference between marketing and advertising. Marketing is everything your customers encounter with your business, from advertising to customer service, to follow-up care, to what they hear about the service you provide.

Marketing involves researching, promoting, selling, and distributing your products or services. When putting a plan for your business, you need to concentrate on the Four P’s of Marketing. Those are known as Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Product: What you are going to sell or provide?

To determine what are you selling or providing, you need to understand your target customers needs, and you have to tailor your products to meet those needs. By fulfilling their expectations, they are willing to buy your products and services, recommend you to others, and they are more likely to come back again in the future.

But before you start selling something, you need to define your customers or clients by their demographic, such as:

• Location of household
• Family size and description
• Genders
• Age is usually given in a range (25-45 years)
• Marital status
• Income
• Education level is generally the last degree completed
• Occupation
• Interests, purchasing profile
• Cultural and ethnic background

Price:  What you are charging for your products or services?

There are three factors to consider when pricing your products or services: costs, competitors, and customers or clients. By knowing these factors will help you determine the payment you will receive for your products and services.

You should specify the amount of how much your customers or clients are willing to pay for your products or services. The amount you charge will evaluate what your revenues will be which is why pricing is one of the critical decision you will ever make for your business.

Place: Where people buy your products or services?

Place refers to where you are going to sell your products or services, and how you are going to distribute them.

• Choosing and setting up your business location: You need to decide where is your business location is going to be, how to arrange it, review the resources, and consider your options.
• Supply chain management: You need to consider that your products are going to travel to many stages before they are arriving at your customer’s hands. Effective control for your supply chain can help you create a seamless process from pre-production right through to delivery and consumption.
• Exporting: To explore new markets for your products or services, you could export to increase sales and grow your business. Even though exporting is excellent, it can be risky. The best way to be successful in exporting you need to learn the basics, do your research, and stay informed.

Promotion: How people are going to know about your products or services?

To convince people to buy your product or service, you need to promote it. There is a variety of ways on how to improve your product and service to potential clients or customers.

Consider these tactics to promote your product or service:

• Internet advertising, social media and other online promotion
• Traditional advertising such as magazines, newspapers, television, etc.
• Development and distribution of marketing materials
• Telemarketing, mail, and e-mail
• Signs outside your business
• Other promotions such as participating in events and trade shows

Depending on your budget and target customers you can determine which approach is right for promoting your business.

Marketing Strategy 

Marketing strategy is considered the foundation of a marketing plan and a good marketing strategy should be strained from market research.  Organization’s strategy should combine all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan.

Before starting any business, you need to create your marketing strategy. You need to understand how your business fits into the marketplace and how to compete with your competitors to achieve and reach your financial goals. Then, you create your marketing plan and start your business.

The market strategy needs to be changed as necessary to improve your results. After opening your business, you need to change your marketing strategy according to the marketing conditions and how it is affecting your sales.

Before creating your marketing strategy, you need to know how your product or service is unique from the other competitors and how it is beneficial for your customers or clients. By furthering your marketing research, you can understand your target market, your competition, and other factors that can improve your ability to reach and attract customers or clients to your business.

After your research, you can create or write your marketing strategy by integrating the 5 Ps of marketing. The marketing strategy and marketing plan will be essential elements to your business plan for success, your product and service quality, your financing resources, and to have a plan to reach your target market target.