Pop quiz time! This quiz has a single question, but your response will reveal much about your ability to market your product or service. The one question is this: how do you define marketing?
The intention behind this question is an underlying misunderstanding of what marketing actually is. I can’t count how many small business owners have told me about “doing some marketing,” but when asked about their strategy, they tell me something like “well, we printed some new brochures.” Another company I worked with once got excited about “revving up their marketing efforts.” The efforts? A newspaper ad. I kid you not.
Is that all there is to marketing? A new ad? While advertising can be an important part of your marketing plan, it’s only one part of the larger plan. When planning your small business marketing efforts, it’s helpful to think in terms of the overall marketing mix, also known as the 4 Ps:
- Product – brand name, packaging, features
- Price – discounts, bundling, wholesale vs. retail
- Place – distribution, inventory control, warehousing
- Promotion – advertising, selling approaches, PR
When you begin to think strategically in light of these 4 areas, you’ll start to grasp a more holistic understanding of your small business’s product or service.
