Marketing is a term that’s thrown around a lot in the business world. But what does it actually mean, and how do you do it well? We’ll dive into these topics and more in today’s blog.
The Definition of Marketing
Marketing is a mixture of processes and teams that communicate the value of a brand to customers. It’s a fairly broad term that covers activities like creating, delivering, and exchanging products or services to satisfy customer needs.
From advertising to sales, marketing is a very present concept in all stages of business. It involves researching commerce, product trends, and what people are looking for to guide a company’s decisions as well as how it communicates with current and prospective customers. Here are a few key components of marketing:
- Understanding Customers—Marketers study customer behaviors and preferences in depth to gain insight into how to connect with them and provide what they want or need.
- Creating Products/Services—Products or services are developed based on marketing research to appeal to customers and maximize sales.
- Communicating—The customer needs to know exactly how the product or service is valuable to them, so materials like ad copy, brochures, videos, and more are created to convince people to invest in the company’s offerings. Communication is the core of marketing.
- Delivering—Marketers assist with the logistics of delivering a product/service to the end buyer so it reaches people at the right time and place. This involves distribution, shipping (if it’s a tangible product), and more.
A Brief History
Marketing has been around since ancient times, believe it or not. And it’s evolved a lot since then. What began as town criers and market stalls has now become a primarily digital experience. Roughly, marketing can be divided into these main eras:
- Ancient Times—Bartering, town criers, and market stalls were the earliest and simplest forms of marketing.
- Industrial Revolution—As mass production ramped up, more organized strategies like print advertising, direct mail, and distinct brand identities were needed to reach larger audiences.
- Production Era (1800s–1920s)—The focus in this era shifted to producing massive quantities of goods under the assumption that customers would buy whatever was most available.
- Sales Era (1920s–1940s)—Aggressive sales tactics became the norm in these decades—many of which were overly pushy and morally dubious.
- Marketing Orientation Era (1940s–1970s)—The aggression gave way to a more nuanced understanding of customers. Marketers realized that to generate sales, they needed to take the time to address the customer’s needs rather than pushing a product on them.
- Social Marketing Era (1970s–Present)—As activism grew, marketers began to emphasize the ways their brand minimized environmental or social harm. A more compassionate and familiar tone was adopted by many—a tone that continues among many brands to this day.
- Digital Marketing (1990s–Present)—Technology has grown rapidly since the 1990s, and marketers have taken full advantage of its expansion with engaging websites, social media profiles, and search engine optimization.
The Difference Between Marketing & Advertising
Marketing and advertising are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Advertising is a specific tool for achieving marketing goals, a key component of marketing rather than an equivalent. Here are their key differences:
- Focus: Marketing is a broader approach that involves research, logistics, strategy, and more, whereas advertising is solely focused on creating communication materials like flyers and magazine ads.
- Activities: Marketers investigate customer behavior to build a holistic brand growth strategy. Advertisers handle design, copy, multimedia production, and other more creative tasks.
Types of Marketing
As a broad, high-level concept, marketing comes in many forms. Here are a few to keep in mind:
- Outbound Marketing – This is when a company shares their message directly to a wide audience. Billboards, cold calling, TV ads, trade shows, and press releases are a few good examples.
- Inbound Marketing – This caters informative content to the customer to bring them to the business, unlike outbound marketing, which is a wider-sweeping approach that pushes out a message. Examples of inbound marketing include blog posts, webinars, infographics, and newsletters.
- Direct Mail – Companies send advertisements to specific addresses, allowing them to target a more local audience. Think postcards, flyers, and coupons.
- Telemarketing – Telemarketing involves reaching out to potential customers via phone to pitch a product or service. It’s still a widely used tactic, but its success rate has declined since the advent of caller ID and cell phones.
- Social Media – Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X are used by brands to spread their message and connect with customers. Paid ads and user-generated content like review videos and positive comments are common here.
- Email – Marketing content like promotions, case studies, and new products are shared with potential customers via email. This is a very popular approach because it’s easy to segment your messaging and test its effectiveness based on certain audience demographics (age, gender, location, etc.).
- Affiliate Marketing – In affiliate marketing, a business pays commission to an external website for sales generated through referrals. This is often combined with influencer marketing, where the company partners with a well-known social media personality to promote their brand.
- SEO – This uses paid advertisements and suggested posts on search engines like Google to rank on the first page of the results, driving more traffic to your website.
Marketing Best Practices
It’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to marketing your business. We’ve put together a quick list of best practices to help you get started:
Clarify Your Goals
When you start a marketing task, whether it’s writing new website copy or creating a Facebook profile, think about what you want to achieve. Are you hoping to book more appointments? Boost website traffic? Knowing your exact goals helps you focus your efforts and assess whether they’re successful.
Understand Your Target Audience
What does your typical customer look like? Where are they located? What do they value? And how old are they? Take the time to create a target persona so you can create your content and strategy accordingly. What resonates with a middle-aged business owner in New Mexico will be very different from what resonates with a young, up-and-coming entrepreneur in New York City, for example.
Focus On Content
Content is king in the marketing world. It’s important to explain the value of your product or service clearly and with style so potential customers engage with your brand. Make sure designs are easy to understand and align with your brand’s colors and tone. Copy should include a call to action (CTA) that gives the reader a simple next step, whether that’s calling you, following you on social media, or placing an order.
Try a Mix of Strategies
We covered many types of marketing above, and there’s no single type to rely on 100%. Try a combination of emails, paid advertising, social media, and more. This mixture will take some trial and error to get right, so don’t be afraid of missteps or risks. In marketing, you’ll always win some and lose some!
Assess & Refine
Platforms like Google Analytics and Hubspot are a great way to measure your marketing campaign’s success. These tools show you metrics like email open rates, website clickthrough rates, and social media likes/followers, so you can see what needs tweaking. If people aren’t opening your emails, try adjusting the content or timing. If people aren’t visiting your website, try paid SEO advertising. It’s all about being open to new tools, processes, and approaches.
Become a Marketing Master With Abstrakt
Abstrakt Marketing Group specializes in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. Our comprehensive partnership covers SEO, email campaigns, content strategy, and the creation of marketing materials like brochures, postcards, and sell sheets. No matter what you need, we have it covered. Our team works closely with you to customize a marketing approach that attracts more clients. Connect with us today, and let’s create something amazing together!
