Have you ever wondered what we marketing folks do all day? When we sit in front of our computers with hundreds of windows open, what is it we’re up to, and how does it all work?
Thankfully, marketing isn’t some secret dark art! It’s just another part of running a business and making sure it can be as successful as possible. But it can be confusing, so let’s talk a bit about what marketing professionals like the team at Lion Spirit Media do, and answer the question of what does a marketer do.
What Is Marketing?
Marketing is one of those things that most people think they understand, but when asked to define it they falter and second-guess themselves. So let’s look at the definition before we start talking about how it all works. The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as:
‘The management process for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.’
In other words, it’s all of the activities around what you do and how you tell people about it. A few examples of activities that come under the marketing banner include:
- Selection and research of target audience
- Choosing qualities or themes from that audience to focus on in advertising
- Designing and running advertising campaigns
- Attending trade shows and events
- Designing products and their packaging to be attractive to buyers
- Determining pricing and special offers
- Working with influencers to promote purchasing to their audience
- Designing campaigns to raise awareness of the business, or promote loyalty to the brand
- Creation of content that promotes both specific products/services and the brand itself
And much more besides. You see, marketing is about much more than just the advert you see on TV or while you’re browsing Facebook. It’s about understanding the people who are buying your product/service and designing campaigns that will first make them aware of your existence, and then convince them to buy from you.
This generally involves 7 steps – Product, Place, Price, Promotion, Physical Evidence, People, and Processes – which you can learn more about here. A dedicated team can do marketing in-house, or (as is more common), you can hire a marketing agency to handle it for you. Marketing agencies specialise in marketing techniques, have access to all of the latest tools and specialist knowledge to design the best campaigns for your business, so they are often the more popular choice
So what is a marketer?
A marketer is a professional who is responsible for promoting and selling products or services to consumers. They research target markets, identify customer needs and preferences, develop marketing strategies, and execute advertising and promotional campaigns to attract and retain customers. Marketers use various channels such as digital marketing, social media, traditional advertising, public relations, and market research to reach their target audience and achieve business objectives.
Common Misconceptions About Marketing
Because the term ‘marketing’ is so broad, there is a lot of misinformation floating around about it. Some are obviously incorrect, but sometimes the misinformation sounds like it could actually be fact. But if you want your marketing efforts to be successful then you need to understand the truth behind it – so it’s time for a little myth busting! Here are 5 common misconceptions about marketing – and why they’re wrong.
Small Businesses Don’t Need Marketing
Small businesses might not have as much time or financial resources as bigger businesses, but they still need marketing for their business to succeed. In fact, they need it more! When your business’ survival depends on gaining new customers on a regular basis, you need a way of attracting them, which is why marketing is so essential for small businesses.
Anyone Can Do Marketing
Technically yes, but in reality, no. Marketing of any kind takes a huge amount of time, effort and knowledge, often with a lot of learning hours thrown into the mix as well. It’s much more than putting up a few posts on social media; if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could do more harm than good. People specialising in marketing will have spent a long time learning the theories, how the various platforms and tools all work, and what techniques they can use to get the best results. This is actually one of the reasons so many businesses outsource their marketing – it’s a specialist skill and a full-time job!
My Customers Already Understand What I Do
Sure, the people who have already bought from you understand what you do. But you need to reach new people who have never heard of you before, and you can never assume they are completely clued into what you do and why. Your target audience is concerned with their problem, and probably doesn’t know a lot about you or your services – if they know you exist at all. Marketing is there to highlight your brand, bring it to their attention and provide them with the information they need to make a purchase.
Advertising Is Marketing
Yes, traditional advertising is a marketing type, but it is only half the battle. They handle the ‘raising awareness’ part very well, but without the support of a broader marketing strategy to build brand loyalty and engage with customers, you will get limited results. You need marketing to build long-term trust with your audience, make your brand accessible online and provide a wide range of touchpoints that all lead to conversion. That’s where content marketing, social media and email marketing shine.
Marketing Is Expensive
Again, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, marketing can be expensive if you want it to be – but it’s all about how much you want to spend and making that money work hard for you. Understand what you really need and where you should spend your money, and capitalise on the thousands of free or inexpensive marketing opportunities out there. There are plenty of businesses that run incredibly successful marketing campaigns on a shoestring budget, all because they spend time exploring their options, taking opportunities and investing wisely.
Bonus Myth – Marketing Is The Same As Sales
This might be the most common misconception out there, so it gets its own section. Sales and marketing are often lumped together as one function that does the same job. But in reality, marketing and sales are separate functions of a business, even though they work very closely together.
Marketing is all about raising awareness, generating interest and prompting customers to contact the company to find out more and make a purchase. The marketing function takes a prospect from completely cold, not even knowing your business exists, to a warm lead wanting to speak to someone. At that point, the sales function kicks in, and your sales advisors can work with the prospect directly to choose and supply the right product or service. Marketing warms up leads for sales, and sales take prospects from on the fence to a completed sale. And while there are certain areas where the marketing and sales funnels overlap, for the most part, they work in very different ways to achieve the same goals.
At Lion Spirit Media, we understand that marketing can feel a little overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time learning about it. That’s why we provide a full and bespoke marketing service, designed to give you support in the areas you need it. Whether that’s creating content or optimising your website, to handling your entire marketing function for you, we can help you find your ROAR and get it heard for miles around. Click here to get in touch with our team and find out more.
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