You’re not alone if you think marketing is sales or branding or advertising or some new trend everyone’s following. A lot of people also think the same thing; including many aspiring and existing small business owners.
Well, while all these things can be linked to marketing, they are not one and the same.
Here’s the simplest explanation of marketing with no lingo or no big words or no big jargons:
The Simplest Explanation of Marketing
Say you’re a hobby baker who now wants to start a side hustle, selling cookies; or a home cook who wants to open your own Small bakery business.
Now, if you decide to sell pastries that’s unique or different from any pastry on the market; for instance, fun cookies – that’s coming up with a good idea for a business.
If you later look in and around the baking market, searching for any business which is also offering fun cookies, that’s market research.
During your research, you realized that many middle-class parents with small children frequently buy cookies for their kids, that’s finding a target market or niche.
These parents give cookies to their children as snacks at home or put cookies in their lunch boxes for school. But the problem with those cookies is that, they’re either too sweet or expensive.
Now, if you choose to solve that problem by offering healthy and affordable fun cookies for kids; that’s finding a great business idea.
If you then bake a few test samples of your healthy and fun cookies and give them out to people within your niche market for feedback, that’s pilot testing or testing your idea.
If you take that feedback and then create different recipes, tastes and designs of fun cookies, that’s product development.
If you choose to sell one cookie at 50p; a small paper bag of 5 cookies for GH¢2.30; a small box of 10 cookies for GH¢4.30; and a big box of 25 cookies for GH¢11.50, that’s pricing.
You then look around for suppliers who can always supply materials at the right quality and prices that’ll allow you to deliver your healthy, affordable and fun cookies; that’s you building a supply chain.
If you set up a food stand or choose to make deliveries or both; and you also take mobile money along with physical cash as payments, that’s distribution.
Now, if you show up at a kids’ football game at a community playground, wearing a funny cookie costume or colorful T-shirt with your business name and everything on it, that’s promotion.
If you give out free samples of your products to the parents, kids and other people watching the game, that’s sales promotion.
If you give out flyers which also has info on your social media handles, special offers and where they can find your food stand, that’s advertising your small business.
Still at the game, if you give “goodie bags” to only the bench of the losing team since they’re sad or crying; but the other kid’s parents get very angry because their winning kids didn’t get anything.
Things get heated up; people start filming and posting it on social media – #yourbrandname; and a local radio station report the story, that’s publicity.
And if you get everyone at the playground to laugh about the incident, after you also give goodie bags to the winning team, that’s public relations.
If later, more parents call, message or come to your food stand with their kids, you give them taste samples, explain the flavor experience and the health benefits they’ll get from spending money on your cookies and answer their questions, that’s personal selling.
And if, in the end, they fall in love with your cookies and spend a lot at your food stand or place delivery orders, that’s sales.
Now, if you planned the whole thing, that’s marketing.
Yeah, there you have it. It’s as simple as that.
Marketing is the strategy that you use to find and select a niche; and offer them something of value.
It’s also the strategy for getting them to know you, like you and trust you enough to become your customer.
But it doesn’t stop there.
It’s also the strategy for keeping them coming back, getting them to buy more and turning them into raving fans who’ll gladly refer you to their friends, colleagues and family.
All the things that you usually hear people say is marketing, are actually, tactics or activities in marketing.
Besides, it’s definitely OK if others think marketing is only about sales or advertising or ideas or whatever.
But for a small business owner like you, having that kind of thinking is not only dangerous, but it’ll doom your business before it even begins.
Wrapping Up
Over the years, marketing has evolved to help businesses and small business owners to keep up with the constant changes in the world of business.
Today, marketing is not only part of your business but everything you do and all your business is marketing.
From the first day you had a business idea to how you start or set up your small business to how you grow your business, marketing is in:
- your operations
- your day-to-day activities.
- how you manage your finances
- how you train and lead your team
- and so on.
It’s simply in everything and everywhere in your business.
All to help every part of your small business to be able to consistently offer value to customers or satisfy them beyond their expectations.
Small To Sprout 