Is there a difference between Marketing and Business?

Had a couple of interesting conversations with prospects this week and both commented that they didn’t realise marketing covered products, pricing and goals.

It reminded me that many people only consider Promotions as marketing. This is only one P in the marketing mix. The short list consists of the Four Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. It is extended for Service Marketing to the seven Ps. The four plus People, Process and Physical Evidence. and, that’s enough of the theory for today

Marketing, as defined by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, is

The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

I’ve always liked the CIM definition because it encompasses much more than an ad campaign, producing leaflets, flyers or going on Twitter.

Small business owners think about the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. But, it’s thought about as something different to marketing.

Perhaps this is where Business coaching comes in. And, because it stops before the P for promotions,  the advice and guidance can fall down or not be followed through.

Still, turning back to Marketing as the CIM defines it.

To be able to identify, anticipate and satisfy customer requirements, there are a few activities and let’s break them down.

Identify Customer Requirements

We start off with creating a customer profile. And, there is a different profile for each type of customer the business serves. For example,

For an IT company who services computers for both consumers and businesses, there will be at least two profiles

Once these profiles are drawn, they become people. So, everything done can be run past Sam and Charlie. Would they like this? Would it serve their needs? Would they pay for it? And, how much?

Creating the customer profile comes from identifying common themes from your existing customer base. And, when you want to go into a new segment, then some market research is required to find out what the profile would be. Of course, this would be tested and retested fine tuning the profiles and gaining better results.

Anticipate Customer Requirements

You may be thinking, surely this is the same as identifying.

Once the customer profile is complete, attention can turn to what’s happening out in the world and what will be the reaction of your customer profile.

Everything is moving so fast, and people adopt new things at different stages. So, for some of the customer base, being informed of the impact of  the latest trends on them would be vital information and a trigger to repurchase. Their opinion of your company would be reinforced as a “mover and shaker” or a font of knowledge. People like to buy from experts!

Going back to the IT company example, the managing director considers what is happening in each of the following:

Political – what’s on the agenda for policy changes? Is there a change in government likely? Is there stability locally and abroad?

Economic – what’s the economic forecast? Is there growth, decline or staying the same? Is unemployment rising? What’s happening about interest rates? Is credit available?

Legal – how are the new laws impacting upon the lives of the customer base? Are there new measures coming to affect the business? Are all the employment law requirements met?

Technological – what are the trends for technology? What are the implications for laptops when considering smart phones and tablets? What about cloud technology? Who is it really aimed at? What about computer security? And more widely, how will these changes impact upon the lives of the customer profile.

It wasn’t that long ago that a dial up modem was used for accessing the internet. Now, phones that do that. For some businesses, these changes have been huge opportunities. For others, they’ve spelled doom and disaster. Yet, it doesn’t have to be!

So, by scanning the external environment, customers’ requirements can be anticipated. New products and/or services can be developed. How these anticipated needs are interpreted can be part of how a company can differentiate themselves from the competition.

Satisfy Customer Requirements

Satisfying customer requirements is very broad and covers the

• Wow! Factor that the customer’s  requirements has been anticipated
• What was said and how it was said in promotions
• The service they receive initially and throughout the lifetime of the customer
• Response received what calling the company
• How the company adapts to changes in the environment
• Being consistent in all communications

With regards to satisfaction, this is a moving target. Business have to be continually adapting to the environment and to customers to retain customers and grow the business.

Profitably

This is a brilliant word. Everyone knows that profits are what’s left from the sales revenue after all the costs and taxes have been paid.

This means that the Price paid has to be more than the sum of the costs.

The Price will vary according to the segment of the market. Going back to the IT company, the home user market has different service needs to the networks business environment with several staff members.

The routes by which the customer can purchase (P for Place) also can have an impact on Profitability. Consider, the supermarkets, Daz washing powder is found in each retailer yet the price may be different in each. You may expect it to be higher in Waitrose and Sainsbury than in Asda, Tesco or Morrisons. Yet, it’s the same product, just a different environment appealing to a different customer segment.

Management Process

The process is the glue by which all the various elements work toether to achieve the results sought. Where there is a team of people working on marketing or there is a dedicated person, having a well defined process is a given. Marketing actvity has a  place in each element of the process. See the diagram below for how elements of the marketing mix fits together.

When we learned what satisfies todfay, it helps to inform how we develop our services, produce enhancement, pricing and promotions. Marketing activity is continuous and enbales us, as business owners and marketers, to identify-anticipate -satisfy requirements.

So, the next time marketing comes into your mind, let it wander and take in the richness, depth and huge impact it can have on your business.

Fast Ways to Have More Clients

There are five easy, no cost ways to have more clients. You may read them and think, I know these already. And, are you doing all these?

More buyers arrive when you are out there, making contacts with people of your client profile.

For each way, ask yourself:

1. Which of the ways are bringing in clients regularly?
2. Which activities bring in high value lifetime clients?
3. How much does it cost to gain these clients?

So, onto the five ways

1. Talk those people who already love you. These people will be a combination of clients, suppliers, prospects and people in allied professions.

Ask them what they particularly love about you and who, in their network, would also benefit from working with you.

By having this conversation you learn more about how they perceive you as well giving others the opportunity to be helpful and increase standing in their network.

This is such a fabulous way to attract buyers. You simply keep in touch with people. In doing so, you show appreciation and that feeds the next lot of referrals.

2. Approach companies serving your market with different products and services. There are a number of options here. Make sure you are clear what you want and can offer.  Presenting a win:win makes it an easier proposition.

Three options include:

• joint email promotion where they send an email to their list with one of your offers and you can offer to do the same.  Be prepared to disclose the size of your list and the responsiveness of it.
• deliver a seminar to their list where you present high value information of interest to their email base. Depending upon the list and your topic, this can either be a webinar or face to face. If there is a charge, list owner may want to have a higher than 50% share of the revenue.
• they become an affiliate for a service or product. You add a revenue stream to their business where you offer a percentage of each sale as commission.

3. Use Social Networking Sites to spread your sphere of influence. I am an advocate of social media. It really works, yet, requires time.   When considered as part of your marketing rather than something separate, it becomes manageable.

Look at the different sites and use the ones where your clients and market  are already. Keep an open mind on where you go. Many people say Facebook is just for consumers and LinkedIn is for business to business. Remember everyone is a consumer. People search for information and entertainment. So, if you can offer these on a Facebook Fan page, then set one up.  this is a great way of building a relationship up with new contacts. There are statistics showing people who a like a business page buy more and are more loyal than non-fans.

There is also cross over in the content presented to the social networks. Consider which are the drivers and deliverers for your market and business.

4. Remember the people in your network who like you. They may never buy but they can spread the word about your sensational services. Better still, ask them who in their network they can refer.  Simply ask them when meeting up whether they have the contact details with them. Can they make the contact now! There’s no better time to take action.  Similarly, you do the same for them. Reciprocity is a great bonding agent.

5. Approach networking groups and offer to deliver a high value talk at one of their gatherings. Plan your talk so you offer them more material in exchange for their email address or, better still, have a low cost product or service on offer at the event. People are already inspired by you, they are more open to buy than when they receive an email or phone call.  

Be bold, schedule time in your diary to complete each of these tasks over the next two weeks. Track what happens. Make changes to what hasn’t worked well. Do more of what did work.

While there is spare capacity, marketing activity should take up between 50 and 80% of the time available.