The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as "the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives."
Let’s break that down into a statement that may be more suitable for a small business…
“Marketing is the process that companies use to get consumers interested in the products or services they're selling.” There. That’s a good starting point for a small business marketing discussion. The key word in that definition is “process,” because marketing involves a number of basic steps, including defining your target audience and pricing, promoting and selling your product. And speaking of selling…
Read MoreIt so happens that Marketing and Sales are joined at the hip, because everything Marketing does is for the purpose of persuading consumers to learn about your company and purchase your products and services. In most cases, your marketing efforts are designed to lead into and “soften the beaches” for your sales efforts, by conveying key selling points of your product or service to your target audiences. It does this via a number of tactics, such as…
Read MoreIn fact, you can think of marketing as a pie representing everything you do to facilitate an exchange between your company and prospects and customers. The pieces of that pie are your marketing tactics. Advertising, public relations, promotion and digital and social media each play a distinct role in a successful marketing recipe.
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