The Fundamentals of Marketing

3.1 Introduction

After looking at an explanation of marketing and what is involved we now have to understand the fundamentals of marketing in general. This is a broad topic but understanding the basic premise that underpins the entire concept as a whole will make it easier for you to create the perfect marketing plan for your business and help spur you on to bigger and better things.

3.2 What We Mean by the Fundamentals of Marketing

Let's begin by discussing what we mean by the fundamentals of marketing. Basically, there are some simple concepts that form the absolute core of every single marketing plan, no matter what its size or the amount of money that is going to be invested into a particular strategy. Companies such as Apple or Google will use the same core ideas as a small builder but obviously with vast differences in terms of energy and money invested into building a particular plan. We are referring to the absolute roots of all marketing campaigns and the questions that you need to ask yourself before you get started. The fundamentals are those basic points that you need to consider to develop a larger strategy that is not only viable but can also target the correct people.

3.3 The Impact of Not Understanding these Basic Concepts

At this early stage in your guide to marketing, it should still be apparent as to the potential impact on your business if basic marketing concepts are not understood. In this instance, the chances of your business failing, or at least not achieving its intended goals, will be high. Although a major problem on your part – it can be rectified. However, there are a number of key points to be discussed regarding what can happen if you do not come to terms with these simple concepts.

You make mistakes.

Mistakes can be made in a number
of different areas which means that you could have a problem greater than
perhaps initially anticipated. In turn the greater the problem, the more
difficult to rectify. The key to developing a viable strategy is to avoid
mistakes at the outset because, if mistakes are not immediately corrected, they
will escalate and jeopardize your business

You cost yourself money.

If you fail to correctly understand the fundamental concepts of a marketing strategy, there is every chance that you will cost yourself a lot of money due to the mistakes that you will make. Look at it this way: if you incorrectly identify your target market and create various marketing strategies with which to target it, how will you get the return that you are looking for?

You cost yourself time and effort.

Finally, misunderstanding the fundamentals of marketing for your business and target market means that you are more likely to waste a considerable amount of time creating a plan that is useless. There is every chance that you will not have time to waste so getting the core of your strategy right first time is essential. Time and effort cost money and no business wants to lose money in this way, therefore you need to get things right first time.

3.4 Understanding Marketing Strategy

Understanding of your marketing strategy is really at the heart of your ability to be successful with regards marketing activities. There cannot be a successful campaign without the implementation of this strategy as this is akin to a blueprint for your entire marketing efforts and a guide for what to do next in order to make the advances that you are looking for in your business.

When it comes to the strategy that you employ, the first thing to consider is what you hope to achieve with regards to your marketing. Having a target in mind is important as it gives you something to aim for with regards your marketing and provides you with a sense of focus. Any business owner looking at create a marketing plan with no end point in mind is going to fail, simply because they do not understand the route they have to take to achieve their desired results.

To really understand your marketing strategy you have to think about the following key points:

*What is a reasonable target to have for your business?

*How much money do you have available for marketing purposes?

*Do you understand your target market?

*Is your target market substantial enough for your business?

*Is it easy to access or could it be beyond your current means?

*Are you happy with your services or products and know the benefits to people?

Just thinking about these simple points will help you begin to build your marketing strategy. However, before you do so, we will help you to better understand your market, as this will have a direct impact on your ability to produce a winning strategy from the outset. We will initially look at a simple four step process that can make a major difference in terms of your chances of success.

FACT

75% of companies say closing more deals is their top sales priority.

Source: hubspot.com

3.5 The Four Step Process

To make things easier for you to follow, we have identified four key steps that you need to implement, in order to feel better placed to be more successful with your marketing. Exactly how you implement or follow these steps is entirely up to you, but the main thing is that it provides you with some simple stepping stones to follow, to get you started.

Step 1: Know Your Targets.

We mentioned this previously but again stress the importance of being aware of your targets before you start to develop any kind of plan. In order to identify your targets, it is advisable for you to think about the following key questions:

*What is your niche?

*Do you even know your niche?

*Where can you find these individuals?

*What do they do?

*How much money do they need to spend in order to use your services or buy your products?

By answering these questions, you will be able to tailor your message to suit your market and, in doing so, you increase the chances of the long-term success of your strategy and marketing plan.

Step 2: How Can You Benefit Them?

Once you have identified your target market, it then becomes easier to develop an idea as to how you are going to be able to benefit them. It is important to remember that we only ever purchase a product or service if we feel that it will help or improve us in some way, or perhaps solve a problem that we are having. As a result, you must identify these benefits, in order for you to tailor your marketing message to suit them.

*Why should they use you?

*How can you help them?

*What are the positives of using your services or buying your products?

*Ask yourself questions as to why you would use your own services or products and seek advice from

those closest to you, to correctly identify the way in which you should implement this step.

Step 3: Provide a Call to Action.

Something that many people new to marketing overlook is the importance of having a call to action. There is little point telling people that you exist and how good you are, if you cannot persuade them to contact you or to find out more i.e. something is needed to make people feel excited enough to take action. A call to action should reflect what you want those potential customers to do. Is it best for them to visit you at a physical location? Do you need them to email you or call you? Knowing the action you want them to take makes it easier for you to understand how to word your marketing, to get them to react exactly as you intended.

Once you have worked out what this call to action will be, you have to ensure that there are no obstacles in the way that could hinder their ability to do what you have asked. For example If the call to action is for people to call or email you, then ensure your telephone number and email address are clearly displayed. Therefore, if you are encouraging people to do something you must provide the tools with which they may take the correct course of action.

Step 4: Monitor and Learn.

The final step which is core to the basics of marketing is to pay close attention to your campaign and see how well it has worked. It is a fact that not every type of marketing will prove to be as effective as hoped for, but that is something from which you can learn and consequently adapt what you are doing for the future.

When monitoring your marketing campaign, you need to look at the difference it has made to your business. Was it what you expected? Could you have done something differently that would have led to a better outcome? The key is do not sit back and accept things as they are. Even the biggest companies in the world have suffered poor marketing campaigns that failed to yield the results for which they had initially hoped.

MODULE SUMMARY

In this module, we looked at the fundamentals of marketing and the key points that need to be considered if you wish to make a success of marketing strategies that you may attempt to implement. It is the key to understand your market and what drives it to spend money with your business, so you may formulate a plan with which to locate and capture your market share.

In the next module, we look at your customers and how to correctly identify what they are searching for in your business; to help build upon your initial marketing plan and point you in the right direction from the outset.