Every company wants to build its brand. To do that, however, they must make the public aware that they exist. They must communicate to their target audience that the products and services they offer the marketplace have value. All of that is marketing. Having a coherent, strategic marketing plan is essential to every business. That plan should cover issues like pushing sales, engaging clients and customers, and ultimately growing the business.
However, you can’t even begin to write a marketing plan if you don’t even understand why marketing is vital to a business. If you’ve heard the word “marketing” and your eyes have glazed over, or if you’ve found yourself shrugging and asking, “Why is marketing important to a business?” this article is for you.
Marketing informs and educates
As noted above, marketing is all about communication with your target audience, the people who are most likely to buy whatever it is that you have to sell. In communicating your value to these people, you need to iterate precisely what you do and how your products or services work. If you can’t do that properly, your competitors probably can, and you run the risk of losing your customers to them.
Your communications need to both inform and educate. If the truth is told, your efforts should also provide some kind of entertainment value in today’s world. Being creative in how you showcase your offerings and highlight your brand is crucial when attempting to engage with your audience. In a world where there’s so much noise in the marketplace, you have to stand out if you want to be noticed.
Marketing can provide an even playing field
A long time ago, marketing was a super expensive activity. Because of the costs involved, many new businesses faced an uphill battle in getting their name and message out to the people they wanted to hear it the most. Fast forward to the current date. The internet has made the marketing playing field fairer in several significant ways.
Many advertising options now exist, and social media platforms allow companies to build, engage, and nurture an audience without huge expenses. In fact, sometimes, you can accomplish a lot entirely for free. If you do decide to go the paid route when it comes to advertising on social media, you can target a specific audience with the precise messaging you desire like never before.
Marketing builds and sustains your identity
Marketing isn’t just about informing and educating people about the stuff you sell. It’s also about creating awareness about your brand and establishing trust and active dialogue with your customers. It’s a part of positioning your company in the marketplace too. There’s an excellent book by Al Ries and Jack Trout on this subject, called “Positioning.” It’s highly recommended.
Marketing complements sales
One of the primary goals of marketing is to aid in the overall sales process. Perhaps you’ve heard of a marketing funnel? It essentially allows a business to craft appropriate messages for each stage of the buyer’s journey. By utilizing marketing channels appropriately, you can get the right message out to the right people at the right time. To do that, however, you need to plan and have a solid strategy in place. In the end, remember that it is marketing that drives sales over the long term.
Marketing ultimately helps you grow your business
In addition to everything outlined above, effective marketing helps your business to grow. By keeping your marketing messages innovative and vibrant (not to mention honest), you can start to target new segments and expand. To do that, you must conduct proper market research. You must also constantly and consistently stay on top of trends.
Marketing provides a wide variety of tools your company can use to help it grow, including traditional advertising (print, radio, and television), digital marketing, content marketing, and more. Remember that marketing provides you with the ability to stay competitive by reaching those most likely to want your products or services.
The last word
If marketing truly drives sales over the long term by building a line of strong communication between your target audience and your brand, then you can make the claim that it’s the heart of your eventual success. Almost everything you do in your company will rely on successful marketing. Without it, your company could stagnate. If you just opened your doors but do not engage in marketing, you will assuredly be outperformed and beaten by competitors that do.
With that said, be wise with your marketing budget. It’s easy to spend on things you feel will have a positive impact. However, let your decisions be data-driven, and don’t base anything on “your gut.” Also, make sure that you actually have enough money set aside for an effective marketing budget. Finally, remember that some of the best marketing programs mix various marketing forms together to give themselves the best chance to succeed.
