Marketing 101
Welcome to the not-so-interesting part of marketing. To most, marketing is defined as running advertisements, passing out brochures or putting up banners. Which is not wrong, but this post will explore the basics of marketing and the very fundamental concepts behind marketing.
The reason you are here is very likely because you are looking to market something and it would be a very good idea to understand how to market whatever it is you want to market.
I am going to make this interesting by providing my personal thoughts on the marketing concepts.
What are you marketing?
We are taught that the 10 entities that could be marketed are: Goods, Services, Experiences, Events, Persons, Places, Properties, Organizations, Information, Ideas.
Frankly speaking, it can be hard to understand the 10 entities that could be marketed as some of them overlaps each other e.g. Is a School Textbook considered a Good or an Information? Regardless, it is important to identify what type of entity you are marketing to make the right marketing decisions.
WHAT I THINK: Everything is information. Information here, information there; the internet is overloaded with information. Your information better be interesting and useful or it will be lost in the sea of information.
Who are you marketing to?
In a world where customer profiles are so diverse, 4 key customer markets have created to help marketers channel their focus. The 4 key customer markets are: Consumer Markets (B2C), Business Markets (B2B), Non-profit & Government, Global Markets.
I will not be elaborating on every customer market, you can click here to learn the details. But I do want to say that understanding your target market is important to select the right strategies for your marketing efforts.
As the marketing industry grows, I am seeing the rise of a new key customer market called Human Market (H2H). As marketing is heavily utilized as a business tool, many marketers have forgotten that they are really marketing to humans; not the markets. While it is important to understand and utilize the concept of the 4 key customer markets, please remember that you are marketing to humans. Avoid automating your marketing efforts to the point where it does not attend to humans.
WHAT I THINK: WE ARE ALL HUMANS RIGHT? We can simplify the concept above by approaching marketing as an attempt to help another person to introduce yourself. All these B2B, B2C marketing really means nothing if you are not helping people in the first place.
Marketing Holistically
There is a concept in marketing called the Holistic Marketing Concept which is further divided into the following 4 categories: Internal Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Performance Marketing, Relationship Marketing.
Frankly speaking, I had a really hard time trying to grasp the concept. However, I understand the concept a little more now thanks to my time in the marketing industry and I will do my best to explain this.
Holistic Marketing is all about introducing cohesiveness to the entire business and creating a consistent brand image. Do not just market to your customers, market to the management and employees as well. Ensure that everyone in the company shares the same marketing principles. If the company’s staff are not convinced of their own company’s principles, how will people be convinced of the company’s principles? Let alone be converted into a customer.
Which company seems more holistic in their marketing effort?
Most successful companies loves and utilize their own products. Because people are able to see how well the companies utilize their products and how much conviction the companies hold towards their product, people will naturally want to get their hands on the product as well.
WHAT I THINK: I’m just salty because I took the effort to document the steps to replace your LinkedIn cover picture so everyone in the company could have the same cover picture, which makes the company look cohesive and united. BUT NO, THEY ARE UNFORTUNATELY TOO BUSY WITH OTHER WORK THAT BRINGS IN MONEY FOR THE COMPANY. Can’t blame them for that honestly.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
What we know as a trend can be further broken down into the following: Fads, Trends, and Megatrends.
- Examples of Fads: Tiktok Trends, Fidget Spinners
- Examples of Trend: increasing awareness on mental health and crypto investments
- Examples of Megatrend: Technological Advancements, Rapid Urbanization
Keep an eye out for relevant trends that can be incorporated into the marketing efforts for your business to increase visibility and raise brand awareness.
WHAT I THINK: Everyone is trying to be a trendsetter now, and very few are coming out ahead. Originality is hard to achieve, there is no need to re-invent something that is already there. Jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the benefits, BUT PLEASE DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE NONETHELESS TO AVOID A TRAGEDY LIKE THE GREAT CRASH OF LUNA.
Environmental Forces
These are things that you cannot control, but will affect your marketing efforts.
The environmental forces are categorized into: Demographic, Economic, Sociocultural, Natural, Technological, Political-Legal.
- Demographic: Age, Ethnic group, Education levels, etc.
- Economic: Consumer psychology, Income levels, etc.
- Sociocultural: Society, Values, etc.
- Natural: Climate change, Depleting natural resources, etc.
- Technological: Accelerating advancement of technologies, etc.
- Political-Legal: Personal data protection, Ban import of goods, etc.
WHAT I THINK: I must confess that I am very poor at relating for examples of environmental forces. I understand the concept, I just can’t think of examples for any particular circumstance. Fortune favors the fool (me), for this topic was not on my examination paper.
Summary
Do you agree with the current marketing syllabus?
I for one, firmly believe that we have to manage our expectations as we enter the actual working environment. What schools teach and what we experience in the working world is going to be different. Therefore, it is important to get some hands-on experience and stay open-minded on concepts that we were taught. But yes, I do find the current marketing syllabus applicable for the most parts.