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By: David Russ
Most people don't know what the real definition of marketing
is. In general, they mistake marketing as being synonymous
with advertising, sales, or promotion.
Marketing is a highly evolved science of making a profit
from transactions. It is, in fact, a very broad term. Whether
you work for a business, a nonprofit organization, a services
organization, or an organization that sells goods, the
definition of marketing is the same: It's the process of
identifying consumer wants or needs and then identifying ways
of meeting those wants or needs at a profit to the marketer.
MARKETING ISN'T JUST PROMOTING AND SELLING! Why is it important
to understand the definition of marketing? It's because we
often think that all we have to do is promote a product and
it will sell.
However, as what the definition of marketing points out,
marketing involves first finding out what people need before
figuring out how to get them to buy a product.
THE 4Ps OF MARKETING! In order to fully understand the definition
of marketing, marketers often break down its definition into
what is known as the "4 Ps of Marketing."
The 4Ps are:
- Product
- Place
- Promotion
- Price
It's the marketer's job to find or invent the product to be sold,
plan ways to get it to a particular place (distribution or
logistics), promote it to its target audience, and determine
the price it should be sold at.
IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE CUSTOMERS! Why do marketers take the
4P approach? This is because marketing is based on the concept
of customer retention. This concept states that customers who
are happy with the product they receive will come back again
and or tell their friends about the product. This is very
important because estimates for most industries state that it
costs at least five times as much to find new customers as it
does to retain current customers.
...AND MAKING THEM HAPPY! How do we make customers happy?
We start by finding a product that a group of people or
businesses want or need. Then we find the most convenient way
for them to receive the product. Next, we promote the product
to them in a way that will make it look most attractive. We
want them to feel good about their purchase.
We want to make sure too that we can sell the product at a price
that will bring them satisfaction. How often have you bought
something and later decided you paid too much or didn't really
want it? Perhaps the most important thing in satisfying customers
is reinforcing in their minds the idea that they made the right
decision of purchasing our product.
HOW TO MAKE THEM FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEIR DECISION!
In the case of large or expensive product purchases, we can
make customers feel good about their purchase by sending them
a personal thank you note, letting them know what a good decision
they made when they bought the product.
With smaller items, you can reinforce the purchase decision of
customers with means such as continued advertising about the
quality and good image of your product. Another thing to do is
to reassure them by the providing good support for the product
and a good return policy, if possible.
As you can see, if marketing is done properly, it will improve
the lives of both the customer and the seller.
It is the marketer's goal to deliver something the customer wants
or needs. If you sell things to people that they regret purchasing,
it will probably be the last thing you sell to people. So don't
make your customers regret having bought from you!
About the Author
David Russ, Internet Musketeers, Inc. (IMI) Search Engine Placement
and Sales Copy Analysis and Creation are two popular services offered
at http://IMIOBC.com. Our newest service, the creation and promotion
of Ghost Articles to promote your business, is gearing up to be our
most popular and useful service yet. Articles are created by our team
of professional ghost writers @ http://GhostArticles.com.
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