Message Understood

I recently saw an interesting quotation relating to marketing,
- "�time and again studies have proved that no other activity
adds more to the bottom line than marketing"�.

This makes marketing a pretty important topic. Yet I find or
that many people in business talk glibly about marketing without
a full understanding of what is involved and without a proactive
approach.

There are various definitions of marketing.

I happen to think it is "having a complete understanding of what
your customers want, knowing what trends and changes are taking
place in your market and responding to these changes better and
quicker than your competition so that you can deliver what the
customer wants profitably".

Note; do not be tempted to substitute needs for wants.

The first bit, understanding the customers' wants is where many
businesses fail. The situation is usually one of someone having
an idea, trying to find a market and supplying a product or
service which they think is what the customer is seeking and if
it is not quite right trying to reach a compromise in an effort
to make a sale.

If this is the case, and of course it not always as bad as that,
then what chance is there of understanding trends, developing a
response and delivering? No matter what size your business you
must be in constant contact with your market to fully understand
current and future wants.

By implication this means that top level involvement is crucial.
How many businesses do you know where the top person is really
heavily involved in marketing?

It would be interesting to know across the various sectors how
different businesses gather, assimilate and act upon their
market intelligence and where the true responsibility lies. I
suggest in the food industry they are satisfying "�wants" rather
than "�needs".

In my corporate life I tried to be in touch with various markets
for a number of businesses and I confess it is difficult. What
does it come down to?

Communication - Listening - Action.

Many years ago I went into one business as CEO. The business was
losing £1m annually. Casually wandering around (listening and
communicatiing) I asked a member of the sales team, "�how do we
find our customers?"� Reply "�we don"t, everyone knows (name of
company)"�.

That business was dying. After much deep root and branch change,
which is another story, it did not die but I am sure you get my
point.

Whether you are CEO of a multinational or a one person business,
without a marketing strategy, your products and services will
not reach any one.

Central to that strategy is communication - using it to attract
customers and converting their interest into sales. There are
many tools for us to use ranging from direct mail and PR
activities to web sites and even text messaging. The aim at all
times must be to keep those customers happy and coming back for
more.

How we market our business is evident in the way we produce our
letters, e-mails and brochures. We must consistently convey the
right image. Of course we must listen to what our customers and
prospects say and respond accordingly. Marketing should be on
going, no matter how well we are doing.

Successful marketing need not be costly but it does mean that we
must understand our market(s) and have an effective means to
attract customers to our products, services and business. Be
vigilant and take action!

Tip: Don"t suppose, endeavour to know.

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About the author:
Michael Harrison is an author, publisher and business consultant
specialising in helping business owners and individuals to
realise and release the full potential of their situation. He
has helped many people to improve their business situations and
advised and supported individuals to embark on new directions in
their careers.

Author : Michael Harrison.
Site : www.goarticles.com

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