[Note: This is part of the Digital Deepak Internship Program (DDIP)]
WHAT IS MARKETING?
The word ‘Marketing’ is not new. It has been in discussion for ages and is still going on, and the conclusion is not yet arrived.
As per American Marketing Association — AMA is ‘Marketing is 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.’
FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING
The Four ‘P’s of Marketing
Product — There should a product, service, or brand for marketing. In fact, marketing activities start before the creation of the product.
Price — There should be a price for your product or service
Promotion — If you have a valuable product, the next promotional activities should be executed
Place — Your customers need to be able to find and purchase your product.
If you have a product with a price, promotional strategies in mind, and a specific place to market then you have the fundamental things to start.
LAWS OF MARKETING
- Marketing is based on science and not based on creativity
- Marketing is understanding your customers well
- Marketing is about sending the right message, at the right time to a right person
- Marketing is also about keeping the existing customers happy
- Build trust with your target audience
- Have to develop “Mass Trust”. Build trust with lots of people
- Marketing is the game of developing trust with mass people
- Your marketing strategies should have steps to develop trust with a stranger
- If you have a good product your marketing efforts will accelerate the death of your company
- A great product will convert its customers as brand ambassadors
- Word of mouth marketing is the best channel of marketing
Target Audience
A target audience is the demographic of people most likely to be interested in your products and services. Finding your Target Audience is very important. Though if you have 4 Ps, if your Target Audience is not right, the whole marketing efforts may end up in vain. To find your Target Audience, you should follow the following basic steps.
Be Patient — You cannot establish your Target Audience on a fine morning. You have to patiently wait for the same. You might be dejected at first but finally, you can enjoy the fruits.
Strategic Messaging — Sending the right message, at the right time to the right person is very important. Establishing deep connections with your Target Audience is a must. You should acknowledge your connections with proper messaging.
Data Compilation — You have to compile your entire customer data from your personal source, friends, relatives, etc. Start with the people already buying from you, following you, and interacting with your posts.
DIGITAL Vs TRADITIONAL
We are in Digital Era. According to the new scenario, we have to see it from Digital Perspective and can simplify the definition to ‘Digital Marketing is the process of promotion of products, services or brands via online.’
We have added two new words into the old definition one is ‘Digital’ and another one is ‘Online’. If we remove those, we will get the simplified definition of marketing ‘Marketing is the process of promotion of products, services or brands’. By this, we can understand that the concept ‘Marketing’ is old and it’s there from the beginning of the world and only methodologies and their applications are changing.
Let's see six advantages of Digital Marketing over Traditional Marketing
Cost: When comparing to conventional/traditional marketing, digital marketing is very cost-effective. That means you can run your digital marketing campaigns within your budget and control. Moreover, you can avail yourself of the different tools and platforms free of cost. You have the flexibility to do your marketing in both paid and organic ways.
Customer Reach: In Traditional Marketing, you have to find your customers. But in Digital Marketing, customers will reach you through search engines, social media platforms, Paid Ads, etc.
Targeting Customers: In Traditional Marketing, it's very hard to target your customers. For example, if you want to market your products for kids, you can target your Ads for kids or young parents.
Tracking Results: In Digital Marketing, you can track your performance and results by using various analytical tools.
Limited Platforms: Platforms are very limited in Traditional Marketing. But, you can find different and unique platforms and avenues in Digital Marketing
Global Reach: In Digital Marketing, you can aim your reach globally and meanwhile in Traditional Marketing the reach is limited, and in case if you want to enhance your reach, you have to spend more.
“CATT” MARKETING FUNNEL
For effective marketing and to grow your business, you can implement CATT Framework.
Content: Find your Niche and create Content for it
Attention: After creating the content drive Attention from the audience
Trust: Once you develop enough attention, develop Trust
Transaction: Convert trust to Transaction
INTEGRATED DIGITAL MARKETING
If you are planning your marketing activities by using one methodology or starting with one tool like SEO or Email Marketing, the impact of failure will be high!. Remember, integration of all the methods and tools is the best practice for a successful digital marketing process. Integrated Marketing includes the unique display of your business across all channels. Following steps should be taken before implementing Integrated Digital Marketing strategies for your business.
- It should be communicated easily to all your customers who visit your social media channels.
- Without a well-structured and well-defined marketing plan, your integrated digital marketing activities might not be successful.
- Your integrated digital marketing plans should have a combination of Paid media (paid advertising), Earned media (organic search obtained with a website or a blog), Owned media (Social Media, Email, and others.
PERSONAL BRANDING
Personal branding is the practice of marketing people as brands. For your business development, you should establish a brand first. Then only you can develop trust among people. After developing the trust you can launch the quality products. Personal branding refers to the process of establishing your public persona for your target audience.
Product Should have Quality:
After establishing your personal brand, if you sell products of low quality, you are digging your own grave. In nutshell, if you grow your personal brand first over your products or services then it's very easy to market and sells.
Your personal brand is How You Promote Yourself:
It's a combination of your skill, experience, and behavior built over years on a foundation called TRUST.
Evaluation of personal brand:
- Step 1 — Learn a New Skill
- Step 2 — Work, Work, Work
- Step 3— Write and Show-Off what you learned
- Step 4 — Do one to one consultation
- Step 5 — Mentor people
CONCLUSION
Marketing is not a new term. It has been started at the beginning of the world, still exists, and will continue here always. But, ‘Marketing’ evolves itself periodically by adding up new techniques and methods. “Digital” is the latest add-on to the term “Marketing” thus, understanding and learning the cutting-edge digital methodologies is the need of the hour.