The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as, “The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Of course, that’s just one definition.
Every individual and organization that engages in marketing has its own, slightly different, way of describing this field. A better way to get to the essence of what marketing is might be to look at the common denominators across many definitions.
A-Train’s Elements of Marketing
For many years, we've been a leader in digital marketing in Colorado. Through our interactions with hundreds of clients, business partners, and service providers, we have a very in-depth understanding of the key elements of marketing… or more specifically, good marketing. They include:
- Developing the right product. It feels a little odd to talk about product development as a marketing strategy. But it’s hard to argue with the logic. If you produce a product that people want, you will surely and naturally create some positive buzz around that product!
- Understanding your customer. And notice that we say “your customer” not “your target market.” Too often marketing campaigns are designed to appeal to a group of people rather than the individual man, woman or child who plunks down cold, hard cash to purchase a product. They are the ones you really need to connect with.
- Telling a good story. Touting long lists of features and benefits may fill your product developers with pride. But those lists don’t tend to move a prospect. Sharing an engaging tale about how the product affected someone’s life, however, is sure to get someone’s attention.
- Creating dialogues rather than delivering monologues. The more you get your prospects talking, the more you’ll learn about them (see “Understanding your customer” above!). And, the better you’ll be able to meet their needs. Plus, if you are talking with them rather than at them, they’re more likely to share those conversations with others who might develop an interest in your offerings.
- Building trust. Betray a prospect or customer just once, and you’ve likely lost them for life. If, on the other hand, they believe you always have their best interests at heart and are doing your best to meet their needs, they’ll keep coming back.
- Delivering profit. In this age of content marketing and lead nurturing, it’s easy to get so focused on relationships that you forget to keep an eye on your bottom line. Don’t get us wrong… we believe it’s critical to develop a rapport with your market. But, at the end of the day, marketing is only effective if it’s making the cash registers ring!
Let’s Talk About Your Definition of Success
What are your marketing and sales objectives and how can you achieve them? We’d love to talk with you about the answers to those critical questions. If you’re looking for digital marketing, give us a call!