Before we can get into a detailed description of how you are going to market your business, we need to define marketing and advertising. Too many people lump them in the same categories, or interchange them, when in fact, they are two uniquely different entities.
Marketing is the process of teaching consumers why they should choose your product or service over your competitors. If you are not doing that, you are not marketing. It’s that simple! The key is finding the right marketing method and defining the right marketing message to use to educate and influence your consumers.
Companies make the mistake of thinking that marketing is just “one” thing, but marketing is everything that the consumer encounters when it comes to your business, from advertising, what they hear, the customer service that they receive, to the follow-up care that you provide. Your marketing is the business of promoting, selling, and distributing of your product or service.
By contrast, advertising is the activity of attracting public attention to a product or service. The actual dictionary definition goes on to say that advertising occurs by means of paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media. I disagree with the limitations implied here because you can get a lot of advertising that you don’t have to pay for.
Marketing is often confused with advertising and sales, but it is important to know the key differences. These articles will give you a better understanding of marketing, more importantly, give you great ideas and techniques to super-charge your marketing.
