Is Marketing Over-rated???
Have you ever wondered if “Marketing” is actually over-rated?. Does it deserve the importance that it presently seems to be enjoying?.Do we need “Marketing”? Is there a future for the Traditional Marketing? How can Personal branding help you stay on top?…….Am sure these are just some of the questions that would be lingering in your mind. This article is my attempt to address the above questions. I am writing this while bringing into fore my overall professional experience of 17 years in the Sales and Development and an immensely valuable 9 year experience as an Entrepreneur. If you are a budding entrepreneur, student, blogger or just about anybody who is curious about marketing, Hope you will find this useful….
“Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. Marketing includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other businesses.”….Definition of Marketing by Investopedia. A lot can be inferred from the above image of Marketing. Look at the various components one has to consider when you say “Marketing”. It has been proved that Marketing is based on Science and is not just about creativity. Infact many would confuse or conclude that Marketing is advertsising. Is that the Case?. Absolutely not.
Be it any Industry and any product, Marketing is critical. Imagine if you have a world class product but if you can’t market it properly, will it be a Success?. Well,though word of mouth publicity would help, but it still cannot garner the kind of Sales it should have in the first place. Marketing is a game of perceptions. Once that is done and if the quality of the product is great, the Product becomes a big hit. And once momentum is built,one has to focus on quality service to retain the customer. It is here that word of mouth is critical.
Understanding your Customers, giving them the right message and at the right time is very important. Marketing is a phenomena which you will encircle the customer with even before the creation of a Product and it goes on for the entire life-cycle. This is where Communication is very important.
Marketing is a means to an End.We all do marketing even in our lives, isn’t it.
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and then sells itself….The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous”…From a renowned management guru, Peter Drucker.
Without Marketing, no product can evolve to great heights. All the components(from the first image) ensures that Marketing is something that we cannot ignore. A great product can increase its perception with good advertising. Apple is a good example of that.
Now, lets look at a different type of marketing- Digital Marketing and compare it with Traditional Marketing.
Do you think both, Traditional and Digital are way way different?.We sometimes undervalue anything when the word “Traditional” is involved. Recollect everything associated with that word, and you feel that it may belong to an older era. Not true at all. All we need to understand is that Marketing is about creating perception and it is just that the medium is different. In fact,right from Farming to home-remedy concoctions for Healthcare, people are leaning towards the “Traditional” way now.
The statistics(numbers) involved if there has to a Pan India reach for a generic type of advertising is huge because of our population size and the penetration of those media(like Radio,TV,Newspaper and Hoardings). We are talking in millions here. So the traditional mode of reaching out would still be effective and would remain. However, the one big advantage what Digital marketing would have is that that you can be more precise on whom you want to target. Imagine if you have customized a particular product and want to market in only one part of City or State or Country, you can do that. Isn’t that amazing?. Your demographics can be well defined and you have a better chance of being effective with your target audience. Direct Response marketing would have a better strike rate in the Digital Marketing space. However, let us not miss out on the fact that while tools are plenty in Digital space, the basics of Communication and Economics are not different.You must continue and maintain good communication skills and have better awareness about the Economics to be successful.
As i mentioned earlier that “Marketing is based on Science and not just creativity”, it is important to look at a Funnel which further defines this.
C.A.T.T Marketing Funnel.- Lets look at this……
This should find you curious…Isn’t it ?…..Wealth = n^CATT. Let me take you through in detail on the above. For Lead generation and content, this is wonderful tool.
Wealth= Do i need to explain?.You decide what should be your threshold!!!
[n]NICHE=Your Success and Wealth depends on the Niche you choose.
[C]Content=From your Niche, Create Content that is useful and should attract people. There are various methods to do this.
[A]Attention=Drive traffic to your content through tools like SEO,Paid Ads, Social Media and even referrals.
[T]Trust=Build trust with your targeted audience with regular information.Send communication which is personalised.
[T]Transaction=With Natural sales process, the foundation of which is built on the above 4 points, you should be able to convert your leads into Customers. Your Niche ideally should a combination where Talent,Passion and Market overlap into each other.
Integrated Digital Marketing-
You must be wondering what would come under the framework of Digital Marketing. The basics remain the same, the medium differs. There are various tools through which we can do this. Have a look at this Picture…..
Now, if we use the framework of CATT funnel here, you will appreciate that it is centered around Content. And everything is inter-related and with the continuous flow, it leads to conversions and finally the Sales take place. At every level, there is some amount of interaction which would take place.Each module is powerful on it’s own and with good synergy it can lead to exponential growth. It is ideal to use in a smart way all the tools available for Digital Marketing so that they complement each other. A lot can be studied about the various methods used in Digital Marketing. Let me share one very good blog i have read on this.You must definitely read this . https://digitaldeepak.com/integrated-digital-marketing/
Personal Branding- Mass Trust Blueprint.
Whatever useful,effective and successful things you do over a period of time, consistently by earning Trust of people is what builds your Personal Brand.
From my experience in my professional career and in my current business, what i have observed and would strongly vouch for is that “You” are the brand to the Customer. Your end customer would want to hear from you and that is what will build credibility. Even if you are in a remote location,the Personal brand is what will customers will vouch for. Currently, though i and my wife operate two branches of Pre-School as a Franchisee of India’s Leading Pre-School, the Parents look up to us as the Company.This reputation comes after you consistently offer the right services without shortcuts and build trust. Few tips to evolve as a Personal Brand are-i) Learn a New Skill.(ii)Put it to work.(iii)-Blog{(in other words,Market yourself)}.(iv)- Do Consulting.(v)-Mentor and finally (vi)-StartUP.
Conclusion- When you have a financial goal in mind, it is important you explore different ways to reach that. Once you create a funnel for this, the Goal will definitely seem easier. See,your demographics are defined and this is where Marketing comes into play. And, Marketing is one subject which will help you evolve during all the times.It has a long shelf life and it is rooted in the Human Psychology.The Purpose of Marketing is to build a brand and capture a position in the minds of the consumers. Do you know what gives the fastest R.O.I to a business….yes, it’s Marketing. And you can keep learning every time. Interacting with my Mentors and ex-colleagues give me new insights on Marketing. Reading books sharpens my marketing skills and in the present context, a Online Course or an Internship Program with a reputed Mentor can enhance your skills. Love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore marketing.
On a lighter note, Let me also share something from the present time……This is a time for a rat race in the launch of Vaccine for Covid-19….Irrsepective of the efficacy or the sanctity of clinical trials, the manufacturer who markets well the Vaccine will get a lion’s share of the same.Let’s hope it is for the good.
If you liked this article, please leave your review on the same.I would feel encouraged by receiving your like. Thanks and Stay Safe.
