Putting Marketing into Context

Being able to put marketing into context is the art and science of maximizing what you have to offer, at any time. It is an art because it requires creativity and self- expression; it is a science because one should monitor results, test and adapt.

The first priority is determining what you have going for you and maximizing it. This means accurately and attractively describing what you are all about and justifying why the market should respond to you. Your image should reflect the benefits of what you have to offer. After image, offering more (and this can be part of the image) then ”Brand X” will increase sales and profitability. Testing all parts of promotions, monitoring and adapting will maximize the stimulus. Networking and other forms of lead generation should be tested (as described later) to deliver mechanisms that can be called upon during slack seasons.

The intent of marketing is to be able to produce profit consistently. Peaks and valleys can cause commotion. Overworked or under-worked is not healthy. I am consistently amused at the naivete of management consultants who write columns or books stating that 90% of new businesses fail because of mismanagement by being undercapitalized. Under-capitalization means that you missed the sales projections! Someone put together sales projections before the business got started or else they financed it themselves. Mismanagement was the cause, all right, because management must know how to market in order to generate constant profitability. W.C. Fields said it well in the movie ”David Copperfield”: ”$40 in, $39 out, happiness. $39 in, $40 out, misery.” Marketing is maximizing what is, testing to have a Plan B for when it is needed and continually letting the marketplace tell you what it wants by observing. (When people talk, E.F. Hutton should listen.) Break-even is the number one priority, but the fine tuning of profitability and developing alternate methods that work are major functions of management. It’s planning and preparing, like in almost everything that is worthwhile, that allow the flexibility to be successful.
Market conditions will change! Large, regional or national companies are usually selling commodities. That is products with a known value and price. These marketers have huge budgets and lots of time to adjust. They are usually looking to accomplish positive public relations more than direct, immediate response to their advertising. This is not intended for that market. This product is geared for small businesses that want and need a unique spin on their image; effective ads, and, predictable results!

In order to accomplish this, we will show you a lot of the causes of customer response mechanisms and why the work. When price is the only issue, you are looking for risk, lower profits and an unsure future!

Marketing Table of Contents