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King Solomon's Introduction to Marketing Basics - Wise Counsel
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Written by Bobby Keating
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008 03:56 |
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With a little study we can see that there are several concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is 'the diversity of activities used in assuring that we are meeting the needs of our clients and that we are getting a valuable return in response.' A major misconception of marketing is that it only entails 'advertising your product or service.' Advertising is important, however, it is only one component in the process of marketing.
by BobbyKeating
With a little study we can see that there are several concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is 'the diversity of activities used in assuring that we are meeting the needs of our clients and that we are getting a valuable return in response.' A major misconception of marketing is that it only entails 'advertising your product or service.' Advertising is important, however, it is only one component in the process of marketing.
Developing a good understanding of the needs and wants of your customers and developing a plan that addresses those needs is the essential element of 'marketing.' For a business owner to want his business to grow is a natural aspiration. Giving close attention to 'organic growth' is the most effective way to help your business grow.
One of the most effective ways to grow or expand a business is to concentrate on 'organic growth.' For us to understand 'organic growth', we need to be aware of the fact that a business is a living organism. We can either let it tend to itself or we can discover what its needs are to help it grow. When determining what the business needs, we can determine what we need to do to make it thrive.
Let's look at two basic elements of marketing to help us get a better idea of the activities that we need to do to create a successful business. The first element of marketing that we need to consider is 'developing a marketing plan.' The second element is your 'ongoing promotion.' A serious mistake that many business owners make is to create a product or service and immediately begin an advertising campaign. After a further explanation of these two basic elements, you'll understand why this mistake can be a disappointing and costly one.
When we develop a 'marketing plan' or 'marketing strategy', we create a guide that is necessary for the well being of a business. The first consideration in creating a marketing plan is research and analysis. This is not as difficult as it may seem. It may take a little time but it will be well worth the effort.
To help us understand, we should look at the advice of King Solomon, the wealthiest man who ever lived. This will show us the effectiveness of marketing analysis. We can apply several of Solomon's Keys to Success in our ongoing marketing efforts.
Proverbs 1:5 (NLT) "Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance" Guidance or wise counsel can be found in many forms. We should also remember, for those of us who think we understand everything, " Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others." Proverbs 12:15 (NLT) In a nutshell marketing analysis involves the following:
A well built marketing analysis involves the following:
1.) Determining our 'market' or the groups of potential clients that exist,
2.) Determining our 'target market' or which groups of customers that we prefer to serve,
3.) Learning the needs of our target market,
4.) Developing the best products or services that might meet the needs of our target market,
5.) Determining the uses our potential clients might have for our products and services,
6.) Understanding what our competitors are doing,
7.) Determining the pricing formula that we should use and
8.) Deciding how we should distribute our products and services to our target markets.
There are a number of researching your target market that can be used to discover information about markets, target markets and their needs, as well as the actions that your competitors are trying, etc. The Internet has given us a great instrument for this type of research. A little refined searching on the major search engines will reveal many sources of specific information. You must remember to target your searches. Get specific!
After having developed our marketing plan, we should look at our plan for 'ongoing promotions.' Our plan for ongoing promotion will include advertising, public relations, sales and customer service to name a few. These terms (advertising, marketing, promotion, public relations and publicity, and sales) can easily become confusing. These are terms that are often used interchangeably. However, they refer to different but similar activities.
Let's look at a list of quick definition of each term.
1.) Advertising -- presenting a product (or service) to potential and current clients. Advertising needs to be focused on a particular product or service. We must understand that an advertising plan for one product will be different from that for another product. Advertising is usually done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, website banners, etc.
2.) Promotion -- Promotion can be defined as the tasks that maintain the product in the minds of the customer (product recognition). The ongoing effort of advertising, sales and public relations are often considered aspects of promotions.
3.) Public Relations -- ongoing processes we use to ensure that our business has a strong and positive public image. This is referred to as "PR."
4.) Publicity -- being mentioned in the media. This is always the review of someone else but can include news releases.
These are a few of the many terms that need to be learned. The health and well being of our business, your business, is determined by the extent of diligent study that you do and the application of the principles that you learn through study. To best know your product or service or clients or competitors, you must develop a sincere determination to become as diligent as possible.
Remember these few examples of Solomon's Proverbs to help you develop a growing and successful business.
Proverbs 10:4 (NLT) "Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich."
Proverbs 12:24 (NASB) "The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor."
Proverbs 13:4 (The Amplified Bible) "The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied."
Proverbs 21:5 (NASB) "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty."
Commit this last Proverb to memory. It will serve you well.
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