The aforementioned marketing definition appears to be comprehensive, however, your business may still be wading in the marketing tide, trying to decipher its meaning may still leave your business bobbing around in the marketing ocean. How about the noted marketing guru Murray Raphei's definition, which simply states: "Find out what your customers want and give it to them."
Easier said than done? Not Really. Think about how ships navigate the world's oceans by charting a course toward their final destination. With a charted course, your business can also reach its marketing goals on time and hopefully without incident.
MatterMax Media's successful marketing track record takes into account the development of a marketing plan, which includes a strategy that has helped our clients uncover the, "find out what your customers want and give it to them", paradigm.
Crowded Marketing Waters
The anemic U.S. job growth further exacerbates today's marketing challenges forcing many out-of-work people to create new businesses. These new businesses find themselves trying to navigate through a tsunami of new marketing rules that are emerging daily with the advent of new technologies.
The majority of these new start-ups have little knowledge about marketing basics. The following statement made on Wired.com further supports the premise of a wave of "forced" new start-ups.
Where the Jobs Are
On Wired.com, commenter lamme99wrote:
- "Sorry, the U.S. economy is not 'rebounding' in any way, shape or form. Sure, if you got the right tech skills, are under 35 years old, or work on Wall Street, maybe things don't look too bad. But otherwise, you are sucking wind."
New Rules for the New Start-Ups
Unless you have a basic understanding of how to craft a marketing plan before you embark on your voyage to navigate the rising competitive waters, the idea of just creating a social media Facebook page, a blog, and/or buying some traditional ad space in a traditional media component may be a waste of time and resources. After developing a well crafted marketing plan, you can proceed to move downstream with your ad placements and online marketing initiatives.
When charting your course, it is vital that your marketing plan includes certain basic elements.
Your marketing plan should answer these questions:
- Who/What is your market?
- What are the trends of your market?
- What is your market share (and the trends of your share?
- How can you increase market share?
- How can you increase profitability within your market share?
The Seven Areas:
These questions may sound simple, and are! The answers to these questions are the fundamental building blocks that will enable your business to begin to create your marketing plan outline and chart your course. Your home work is to do the research in order to find your answers. Be ready for next Tuesday's blog, when we will cover the first two of the Seven Areas. We will drill down below the water's surface and will show you how to use your preliminary answers as the basis to develop the Seven Areas that will complete your marketing plan outline.
About MatterMax Media MatterMax Media is a full service integrated marketing agency located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. MatterMax Media provides strategy, technology, marketing and training for individuals, businesses and government. Today’s Marketing Blog focuses on Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Web Matters. When you require assistance with your marketing strategy, feel free to contact us.
