Why Marketing is important, and 4 Ps of Marketing

What marketing is, 4 p of marketing, marketing concept, local online marketing, marketing plan example. Read all about it here.

Imagine having stellar customer service but no one to patronize your business? What if you had the tastiest coffee in town but no one gets to buy them? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to launch a business outfit with no one knowing about it? These are not pleasant situations, but they can happen if you have a poor marketing strategy. So, if you have a business, product, service or idea and you think the world needs to know about it, then this article is definitely for you.

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” ~ Peter F. Drucker

One thing you must know is that establishing an idea or pushing a business concept is just the start. There is more ahead if you want your business to experience true growth. Getting people to buy into your business idea requires marketing. Top companies know the importance of marketing, and so they do not joke with it. Small-scale business owners, on the other hand, think that marketing is just advertising. Marketing goes far beyond advertising. It spans the entire process involved in getting the product/idea from the maker to the customer.

Marketing gives the manufacturer the know-how on what products to sell, how best to sell them, where they should be sold and at what prices.

Here are five reasons why marketing is important:

1.  Marketing engages: this is a very important function of marketing. Marketing has the capability to turn first-time customers to return patrons through its various means of building relationships and establishing a connection.

2.  Marketing enlightens: With the help of marketing, you will be able to let people know about your business and services. With the content on your website, the graphics communication and many more, you will be able to inform your potential audience about your service, product or idea.

3.  Marketing sells: This is a really simple and easy concept. You will never be able to sell your business, product or idea if no one is aware of what you do in the first place. So, with the various marketing means you can employ, you have the power to invoke sales from potential buyers.

What marketing is

Investopedia defines marketing as activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. It goes on to explain that Marketing involves actions taken by a company to attract customers and maintain good relationships with them. Networking with customers or clients, potential or past, is part of marketing, and “may include writing thank you emails, playing golf with prospective clients, returning calls and emails quickly, and meeting with clients for coffee or a meal.”

 4 Ps of Marketing

What is 4 Ps of marketing? In the 1950s, Neil H. Borden popularized the idea of the marketing mix. The Marketing Mix is essentially the 4 Ps of marketing that anyone interested in marketing must have in mind. What are they?

1.      Price

The price, in the marketing mix, refers to how much a company is willing to sell their products, idea or service. There are many factors to be considered when picking a price. For instance, the company must consider how much the unit cost price will be, the marketing costs and the expenses of distributing the products. Also, they must consider the price of competing products in the market and decide if their own price is good enough to be an alternative for the buyer.

2.      Place

The second P is the place. The place, in the marketing mix, refers to the distribution of the product. How is the product going to be distributed? Is it going to be physical or online? If physical, what factors would be considered to make sure that maximum results are achieved? If online, what factors should be given attention to ensure that the best is gotten out of it?

3.      Product

The product is the third P. The product refers to the item that the company hopes to offer the consumers through the marketing process. Ideally, the product is expected to fill a void in the market. It is expected to cover up an absence being felt by the consumers.  Before a marketing campaign can be made, it is important for marketers to know the product that will be sold, what really makes it different and unique when compared to similar products, if the products will be used solely or along with a secondary product, and if there are many similar products in the market already.

4.      Promotion

The last P is promotion. It is the combination of several efforts to communicate the products to prospective buyers. Advertising, sales promotions, direct marketing, email marketing, public relations, sponsorships and many more are examples of promotion.

Marketing Concept

The marketing concept is essentially the strategy used by firms to ensure that they satisfy customers’ needs, cause an increase in sales, maximize profit, and be ahead of their competitors. There are five marketing concepts that organizations adopt and execute:

1.   Product concept

2.   Production concept

3.   Marketing concept

4.   Selling concepts

5.   Societal marketing concept

Local Online Marketing

Local Online Marketing is the use of online means to reach out to potential customers located in a particular geographical area. The essence of this segmentation is to focus on a geographical area where you intend to explore as a marketer. Small businesses without a national or global reach can take advantage of local online marketing. Search Engine Optimization and PPC must be optimized to gain attention.

The use of online platforms makes it easy for business owners to have access to their customers and vice versa.

Marketing Plan

A Marketing Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines a company’s overall marketing effort, says Syndicate room. It is a blueprint that outlines how a company will implement its marketing strategy, and use a combination of resources to achieve business objectives including sales targets and customer acquisition.

As a business owner, you should be able to draw a marketing plan and include the 4 Ps of marketing. Here are several examples of a marketing plan.

For every business to grow, it must engage in marketing. Every business owner must know the rudiments of marketing and how to draw up an implementable marketing plan to drive sales and brand loyalty in the market.

Sources cited:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_H._Borden
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing-mix.asp
https://www.syndicateroom.com/learn/glossary/marketing-plan
https://www.addthis.com/academy/the-ultimate-marketing-plan-template-7-useful-examples/