Marketing Basics: The Essentials You Must Know

Marketing is gaining profit by exchanging products or services for money. It’s an essential function in any business and can be broken down into a few basic steps. That’s marketing basics.

To guarantee a successful marketing campaign, you must understand these steps and how they work together.

This article will cover the essentials of marketing: what it is, why it’s important, and how to set up a successful campaign. We’ll also cover some basic concepts you must know before you start or as you pursue your business goals. 

So, whether you’ve just started or just looking for a refresher course, read on for everything you need to know.

Key Takeaways

• Marketing encompasses creating and distributing value through products or services, focusing on understanding and meeting customer needs, building relationships, and establishing a trusted brand.
• Various marketing strategies exist, including B2B advertising, event marketing, direct marketing, online marketing, and others, each tailored to engage different audiences and achieve specific business goals.
• Implementing a marketing plan involves setting clear goals, budgeting effectively, selecting appropriate tactics, and measuring success to adjust strategies for optimal performance.

What is Marketing?

Marketing means creating value for a company by producing and distributing products or services. It comprises the entire process from idea generation to customer acquisition and retention.

Marketing is about understanding customer needs and desires and creating a unique offering that meets those needs. It also concerns building customer relationships and creating a brand they can trust.

To be successful, marketing must be strategic, targeted, and well-executed.

The Different Types of Marketing

There are over forty types of marketing, but we’ll just take the ten most common:

Advertising

Advertising is a form of marketing used to promote products, services, or businesses. It involves creating an informative advertisement, which can be in the form of a commercial, print ad, online ad, or anything else that will catch the attention of potential customers.

The purpose of advertising is to persuade people to buy a product or service or to convince them to use a particular brand.

You can advertise through various media, such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the internet. Many strategies can be used in advertising. The most effective ones will vary depending on the products or services being promoted.

However, all effective advertising campaigns share one common goal: to persuade people to take action. Effective advertising must convince people to do something, whether buying a product, using a service, or simply learning more about a company or brand.

Event

Event marketing is a promotional tactic that involves creating and hosting an event, like trade shows, conventions, and product launches, to promote a product, service, or brand.

It can generate awareness, build interest, drive sales, or create loyalty among customers or employees.

Events can vary greatly in scope and scale, from small local workshops to large international conferences.

The key to successful event marketing is choosing the right type of event for your goals and audience and then executing it flawlessly.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing means communicating directly with potential customers in person or through an advertising medium to provide them with information about a product or service.

It aims to generate an immediate response from the customer rather than relying on them to see an advertisement and then take action.

Common direct marketing channels include door-to-door sales, direct mail, telemarketing, and email marketing.

By its very nature, direct marketing is highly personalized and can effectively reach target audiences. However, it is important to consider the privacy implications of direct marketing, as customers may feel that they are bombed with unsolicited messages.

Online Marketing

Online marketing is promoting a product or service over the internet. It can involve various activities, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), and email marketing.

Online digital marketing is an effective method to reach a large audience in a short period. With the right strategy, businesses can use online marketing to build brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales.

To make the most of it, businesses must carefully select the channels that will work best for their goals and budget and create compelling content that resonates with their target audience.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based approach in which a business rewards an affiliate for each visitor or customer brought by their marketing efforts. The industry has four key actors:

• the merchant (also known as ‘retailer’ or ‘brand’)
• the network (that holds the offers for the affiliate to choose from and also manages the payments)
• the publisher (your ‘affiliate’)
• the customer

The market has expanded vastly, so the players increased, including network operators, super-affiliates, specialized third-party vendors, and mobile application developers.

In simplest terms, affiliate marketing is an arrangement between a merchant and an affiliate whereby the affiliate agrees to promote the merchant’s products or services in exchange for a commission on sales.

When users open a link and purchase at the merchant’s website, the affiliate earns a commission. The commission rate varies by product and company, but it is typically a percentage of the sales price and can be as high as 75%.

In some cases, fixed-rate commissions are paid, meaning the affiliate still earns the same commission regardless of the product’s price.

Some programs use two-tier programs, whereby an affiliate earns commission not only on sales made by itself but also on sales made by other affiliates to whom it has introduced new customers.

Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing is an approach designed to build strong, long-lasting customer relationships. Unlike transactional marketing, which focuses on one-time transactions, relationship marketing is based on the idea of creating a connection with customers that will last over time.

By developing a relationship with customers, businesses can create loyalty and build a customer base that will return again and again.

There are many ways to create customer relationships, but common strategies include providing excellent customer service, developing personalized marketing campaigns, and creating loyalty programs.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to connect with potential or current customers to promote a product or service. It’s a form of virtual marketing that is extremely effective in communicating with customers and creating a brand identity.

Through social media, businesses can contact customers on a personal level, share engaging content, and develop a sense of community. By building relationships and interacting with customers, businesses can create brand loyalty and increase sales.

Content Marketing

Content marketing (CM) is a systematic approach centered on producing and delivering valuable, relevant, and consistent content to draw and hold a clearly defined market — and, ultimately, to prompt profitable customer action. 

CM achieves this goal by consistently creating and curating meaningful content to change or enhance consumer behavior. It targets loyalty and advocacy by entertaining, educating, or inspiring consumers, so they remain repeat customers and actively promote the brand. 

The secret to profitable content marketing lies in understanding what your customers want and need to know at each stage of their journey with your brand. To do this, you must create various types of content that aim to educate, entertain, or inspire your target audience.

It will keep them engaged with your brand at every touchpoint, eventually funneling them down the path to purchase. 

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is a methodology that directs marketing efforts on attracting customers to your company or product rather than proactively reaching out to them.

The process typically starts with valuable compelling content distributed across multiple channels to reach the right audience with the right message.

Once the initial connection is made, further engagement is cultivated through additional content and interactions that build trust and credibility.

Finally, at the right time, leads are converted into customers through a well-defined sales qualification process.

By aligning buyers’ needs with the business’s interests, B2B inbound marketing can be an extremely effective way to drive long-term growth.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing leverages key leaders to drive a brand’s message to the larger market. Rather than going directly to the prospective consumers, influencer marketing targets individuals with large social media followings and an engaged audience.

These influencers are often well-connected and have a trusted relationship with their followers. As a result, they are strikingly effective in promoting the brand.

The most successful partnerships are those in which the influencer is genuinely interested in the brand and its products. Businesses should consider the audience, platform, and content when selecting an influencer to partner with. There must be a mutual benefit for both parties involved.

These are the different marketing strategies that can successfully build customer relationships. Each strategy has unique benefits that you should carefully consider to know which would work best.

You can also mix these strategies to create a B2B integrated marketing plan that reaches customers at every level of their journey with the company.

After learning marketing types, the next essential step you must know is how to create a marketing plan.

A marketing plan is a guide businesses use to outline their marketing goals and strategies. The plan typically covers a timeframe and includes a budget for each marketing activity. We will thoroughly discuss implementing a marketing plan in a short while.

Meanwhile, let’s find out how to develop a plan around the 7Ps of marketing.

Creating a Marketing Plan through the 7P’s

The 7Ps of marketing is a structure used to assess and define a company’s marketing mix. The framework looks at the strategic elements that make up a successful marketing strategy.

Let’s briefly go over each one so you can get an idea for creating a well-rounded marketing strategy that addresses all aspects of the customer experience.

Product

The first step is to determine what product or service you will offer. What need does it fill? How is it unique? What are its features and benefits? There are many elements to examine when determining the right product for your business. Your guide will be the need of your primary clientele.

Price

Once you have determined the product you will offer, you need to set a price. Many pricing strategies are available, and the right one for your business will depend on many factors, such as your target market, price elasticity, etc. 

Place

Place refers to distribution. How will your product get into the hands of your target market? Many options are available such as retail stores, e-commerce, distributors, etc. 

Promotion

You need to promote your product or service to get people interested. There are creative concepts to do this, including advertising, public relations, online and offline promotions, field marketing, and others. 

People

Another important facet of your marketing plan is ensuring that you have the right people to execute it. It includes having the right team and ensuring everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. 

Process

Process refers to the steps involved in obtaining or using your product or service. What steps do potential customers need to finish to purchase your product? Making the process as easy and seamless as possible will help increase sales. 

Physical Evidence

The last element of the 7Ps framework is the physical environment. It includes anything that can be seen or touched that reinforces the brand promise. It includes packaging design, store design, website design, etc. Creating strong physical evidence is key to reinforcing your brand and increasing customer loyalty. 

The 7Ps of marketing are a great tool for creating a marketing mix for any business. By carefully studying each element and customizing it to fit your business’s needs, you can develop a feasible marketing plan to help you achieve your business goals.

Then, it’s time to implement the plan.

Implementing Your Marketing Plan:

A polished marketing plan is essential to the progress of any business. Let’s go over some key elements of implementing that plan.

Setting Goals

The first step in implementing your marketing plan is to set goals. What do you hope to achieve with your marketing efforts? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive traffic to your website? Boost sales? Once you decide on what you want to accomplish, you can set specific goals.

For example, if you want to increase brand awareness, a goal could be to double your social media following within six months.

If you want to draw traffic to your website, a goal could be to increase website visitors by 20% within three months. And if you want to boost sales, a goal could be to increase sales by 10% within one year. 

Budgeting

The next step in implementing your marketing plan is budgeting. How much are you willing to spend on marketing? You’ll need to consider fixed and variable costs when determining your budget.

Fixed costs remain consistent regardless of how much you’re selling (salaries, office rent, etc.), while variable costs fluctuate based on how much you’re selling (cost of goods sold, shipping fees, etc.).

After setting your fixed and variable costs, you can start to allocate a percentage of those costs toward your marketing budget. 

Here’s an example:

Fixed Costs: $5,000/month 

Variable Costs: $2,500/month 

Monthly Sales: $10,000 

Marketing Budget: 10% of monthly sales ($1,000) 

Choosing Tactics 

Now that you’ve set goals and allocated a budget for your marketing efforts, it’s time to choose some tactics. There are different ways to market your business (too many to list here), so you must select the tactics that will work best for your business and that fall within your budget.

Some popular marketing tactics include online advertising (e.g., Google Ads), content marketing (e.g., blog posts), email marketing (e.g., newsletter), social media marketing (e.g., Facebook ads), and search engine optimization (SEO).

Research these tactics and see which ones make the most sense for your business goals and budget. 

These are just a few things to remember as you begin implementing your marketing plan. Remember that setting goals, budgeting, and choosing tactics are all key components of a successful marketing strategy.

Give your best to do things right from the start, and you’ll be reaching all of your marketing goals!

Lastly, it is essential to evaluate and assess your marketing efforts.

Measuring the Success of Your Marketing Campaigns

Measuring your marketing campaign’s success is essential to your business’s ongoing success. You can adjust your marketing strategy by evaluating campaign results, tracking marketing efforts, and analyzing marketing data.

Evaluating Campaign Results

After a campaign has run its course, it is crucial to take some time to evaluate the results. It will help you determine what worked well and what could be improved upon for future campaigns.

To properly evaluate your results, you will need to set some benchmarks beforehand to have something to compare your actual results to. Once you have compiled and analyzed your data, you can adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.

Tracking Marketing Efforts

Accurate evaluation of the success of your marketing campaigns requires monitoring your marketing efforts from start to finish. It means keeping track of everything from how much money you spend on each campaign to how many leads each campaign generates.

By tracking your marketing efforts, you will be able to identify which campaigns are performing well and which are falling flat. This data is essential for making informed decisions about future marketing campaigns.

Analyzing Marketing Data

Once you have collected your data, it is time to sit down and interpret it. It’s where you will start to see which aspects of your campaigns are working and which ones need improvement. Marketing data can be analyzed differently; just choose the method that makes the most sense for your business.

Adjusting Your Marketing Strategy

After you have evaluated your results, tracked your marketing efforts, and analyzed your data, it is time to make some adjustments to your marketing strategy. It may involve changing your tactics, increasing or adjusting your budget, or realigning your goals.

Making the necessary changes can ensure that your marketing campaigns are as successful as possible.

Closing Statement

Marketing is a complex and multi-faceted discipline with many ways to go about it. You must have the right goals, a good plan, and well-thought strategies to succeed. With the right marketing skills, tools, techniques, and knowledge, your business can excel in marketing campaigns and reach new heights.

FAQs

Here are other frequently asked questions about the marketing basics to help further your knowledge.