How to Market Your Business
Marketing is a crucial business function. Having a great product or offering an excellent service is very well, but if people are not aware of what you are offering they can't buy your products or use your services. Marketing refers to activities that determine and communicate the value of your product or service to customers.
The first step in effective marketing is identifying your customer. This can be done by determining the target customer's:
• Age group
• Sex
• Marital status
• Geographical location
• Income
• Occupation
• Level of education attained
• Interests
• Cultural and ethnic background
This is known as demographic information and is used to create a customer profile and identify the target market. Market research may be required to identify your target market and the needs of the people within it.
It is important to identify the needs of the target market in order to effectively communicate with potential customers. If you don't understand why people need or want your product, chances are that you won't be able to tell people why they should buy it. Understand these needs by asking questions like:
• How does my product or service help people overcome challenges in their daily lives?
• What do people expect from this type of product or service?
• What do people in this market segment desire?
• Where do they spend their money?
• What do they spend their money on?
• Which member or members of the household makes the spending decisions?
Conducting thorough market research gives you the information you need to make the right decisions for your business.
One of the cornerstones of marketing is the marketing mix, or the four Ps of marketing: product (goods or services), price, place, and promotion. These are the four main factors influencing the marketing decision.
Product
Products fall into various categories:
• Mass produced (all identical) or custom (unique for each customer)
• New or existing
• Convenience goods (for example, bread or milk), shopping goods (such as jeans or shoes), specialty goods (for example luxury items that are bought as gifts or once in a while), unsought goods (something that is necessary but not particularly desired, such as emergency plumbing services)
Understanding which category your product falls into will help you to formulate a marketing strategy. Have your product tested to make sure there are no small things that may put customers off buying it.
Price
The price should not be so high as to discourage buyers or so low as to make them think the product is inferior. Consider the cost of the production (including overheads), the existing market price, and what people can and will pay for similar products.
Marketing is a crucial business function. Having a great product or offering an excellent service is very well, but if people are not aware of what you are offering they can't buy your products or use your services. Marketing refers to activities that determine and communicate the value of your product or service to customers.
The first step in effective marketing is identifying your customer. This can be done by determining the target customer's:
• Age group
• Sex
• Marital status
• Geographical location
• Income
• Occupation
• Level of education attained
• Interests
• Cultural and ethnic background
This is known as demographic information and is used to create a customer profile and identify the target market. Market research may be required to identify your target market and the needs of the people within it.
It is important to identify the needs of the target market in order to effectively communicate with potential customers. If you don't understand why people need or want your product, chances are that you won't be able to tell people why they should buy it. Understand these needs by asking questions like:
• How does my product or service help people overcome challenges in their daily lives?
• What do people expect from this type of product or service?
• What do people in this market segment desire?
• Where do they spend their money?
• What do they spend their money on?
• Which member or members of the household makes the spending decisions?
Conducting thorough market research gives you the information you need to make the right decisions for your business.
One of the cornerstones of marketing is the marketing mix, or the four Ps of marketing: product (goods or services), price, place, and promotion. These are the four main factors influencing the marketing decision.
Product
Products fall into various categories:
• Mass produced (all identical) or custom (unique for each customer)
• New or existing
• Convenience goods (for example, bread or milk), shopping goods (such as jeans or shoes), specialty goods (for example luxury items that are bought as gifts or once in a while), unsought goods (something that is necessary but not particularly desired, such as emergency plumbing services)
Understanding which category your product falls into will help you to formulate a marketing strategy. Have your product tested to make sure there are no small things that may put customers off buying it.
Price
The price should not be so high as to discourage buyers or so low as to make them think the product is inferior. Consider the cost of the production (including overheads), the existing market price, and what people can and will pay for similar products.
Place
Place refers to where the product will be sold and how it is going to be distributed.
Promotion
Promotion refers to the methods you intend to use to tell customers about the product and aspects like branding and packaging. This includes traditional advertising on television, radio, billboards, in newspapers or magazines, internet advertising, trade show presentations, direct marketing, and listings in company directories. Your budget and product influences the most cost-effective option.
Once these factors have been decided and explored a marketing plan can be formulated and implemented, setting you on the right course for success.
Emre ILKME BSc, MBS, NLP Prtnr.
Business Coach
http://www.principalireland.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emre_Ilkme
