Many things change over time, especially when it comes to technology. For example, the newspaper has all but vanished and is certainly different than it was even a decade ago. Similarly, television is still around but it is no longer people’s primary source of information and with all of the new tools and platforms available, users now are more selective in the media they consume. But even amid these changing times, some things remain constant, one of them is that it is important for a business to invest in marketing.
Arguably, marketing is one of the most crucial things a modern business can do. Marketing builds awareness, grows businesses, engages customers and increases sales. Marketing helps give your company a voice in an increasingly competitive marketplace. To put it simply, if you are not marketing your business, you are likely at a standstill. Even with a great product or service, if you are not investing in marketing, you’re not likely to be making any progress and are even being ignored by customers or clients.
Marketing isn’t always straightforward and simple but it’s not necessarily rocket science either. Here are 6 reasons why marketing your business is so important.
Marketing Sells
The primary, practical reason that businesses exist is to make money. Marketing is an essential tool to help with that goal. Marketing is key because it helps you sell your products or services. Mark Cuban says, “No sales, no company.” Simply put, your business would not exist without sales and marketing is what ultimately drives sales. Obviously, your product or service must be good but if nobody knows about them how can you generate sales? Simply put, you can’t. The cool thing is, that depending on what product or service you sell and what marketing you use, you could start seeing sales within even hours using something like Google Adwords which can send you traffic, and customers, within minutes of starting your campaign. Marketing ultimately helps lead to sales and as an SMB what more could you ask for?
Marketing Increases Awareness
Marketing is a great way to educate your customers. You probably know your product inside out, but does your customer? Before educated consumers will buy a product, they need to have a good grasp of what it does and a solid understanding of how it works. Some customers might need to see your brand or an advertisement dozens or hundreds of times before they are ready to buy and raising your awareness puts your brand, product and benefits in the mind of your target audience. Marketing is the most effective way to communicate your product’s value proposition to your customers and done well, you’ll build a huge audience of potential customers who know who you are, what you offer and where they can find you.
Marketing Equalizes
Thanks to the aforementioned advances in technology, marketing is less expensive than ever before. Channels such as social media and email campaigns have made communicating with consumers a much more affordable endeavor. When it comes to SMBs, marketing can even level the playing field with bigger competitors. These days, consumers often value overall experience over pricing so as an SMB you might have an advantage as you are able to participate in more nimble, one-on-one interactions giving you a leg up over bigger brands.
Marketing is Measurable
In the early 1900s it was common to hear this adage about advertising and marketing, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” The great thing about marketing in this modern age, is that more realistic and timely data is available for your analysis. It’s much easier to optimize your ads on Facebook or Google Adwords and you can track and see how effective your ads are. Be comfortable launching campaigns and then get to know your metrics, trust your data and watch your marketing help your business grow.
“What gets measured, gets managed.” – Peter Drucker
Marketing Sustains
Marketing used to be used to push a company’s message to an audience, but today it’s important to be more like a conversation. Ahvava Leibtag, at uie, sums it up well in her article about content marketing:
Content marketing centers on the idea of having a conversation—the natural give and take that happens when people communicate. It is the difference between saying, “Buy a Toyota,” and “Hey, it looks like you are interested in buying a new mid-sized car—this particular model of Corolla might be perfect for you, but I’d like to hear more about what your car needs.” The first is forceful, the latter more of give and take, which gives the customer a chance to make up his mind based on the information you will provide.
Basically, marketing should be used to sustain a company’s presence, to manage and maintain healthy, ongoing relationships with their customers. This is not a one-time lob in the audiences general direction, rather, it’s a continuous strategy that over time can help a business truly flourish.
Marketing Builds
Marketing is an essential strategy and tool to build your brand and your business. It isn’t enough to just sell more products or to only focus on building your brand. To be a smart marketer you must do both. The goal of your marketing should be to get to the point where your customer comes to you and trust you enough to make you part of their daily lives. Branding is what distinguishes you from your competition, leads them to choose you instead of someone else. It’s your business’s culture, reputation and style all wrapped up into one. Without marketing, you will struggle to develop a powerful, memorable brand and will not grow.
Are you looking to up your marketing game? We’d love to chat.
