Marketing is akin to baking a lovely crusty loaf of bread…mmmmm can’t you smell it now?…delish!
Many people interchange marketing and selling as if they are the same beast.
They are not.
Marketing is about creating the environment to make the sale.
Not the sale in itself.
If we think of our warm toasty loaf, marketing would be the act of making & baking the loaf while selling would be slathering our delicious temptation with butter and savoring the moment while we stuff it in our face.
Marketing is the recipe. Sales is the consumption.
If you fail to add all the ingredients to your recipe, like a loaf without yeast you’ll end up with a flat tasteless hunk of dough that nobody would want to consume.
To understand your mix, understand that marketing consists of two phases.
Inbound marketing and Outbound marketing
Think of these as the research and delivery phases.
During the inbound phase (research) you will want to look at market segments, product analysis, packaging, pricing, competitors, usp, and branding.
Outbound (delivery) on the other hand is all about advertising, promotion, PR, customer service and sales
If some of these terms are a little foreign to you, consider it like this:
Inbound:
Assessing and identifying the market that you wish to target.
Identifying the specific need of that market & how you will meet that need.
Outbound:
Fulfilling that need to the customers satisfaction
Continuing to build the customer relationship through ongoing service and support.
While it may seem oversimplified, this really is all there is to it. Then its just a matter of defining your particular strategy around these key concepts.
Getting these right will lead to greater sales and business success.
Below is one of the best analogies I’ve seen to describe the marketing process, that may help you to get the picture on how this all fits together:
If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying, “Circus is coming to Fairgrounds Sunday,” that’s Advertising.
If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him through town, that’s a Promotion.
If the elephant walks through the Mayor’s flower bed, that’s Publicity.
If you can get the Mayor to laugh about it, that’s Public Relations.
If the town’s citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales
- M Booth & Associates
And the seamless delivery of this whole process is your marketing strategy.
So its time to get creative with your marketing and find ways to promote your business, product or service. But don’t forget at the end of all this marketing there has to be a product or service that stands up and provides great value to your customers.
Your product or service needs to be rock solid. Test it. Be sure.
Then market your everlovin little cotton socks off.
Would love to hear about your marketing tales. Where have you met difficulties? Whats been super easy? Over to you leave your comments below.
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Great analogy Jackie. You bring up important points because today especially if you are online you would be forgiven to think it is all about tactics.
Agree with you about your product or service has to be rock solid especially these days. Having marketed a few brands on perception only it is a tough one. We forget sometimes it can be the smallest tweaks that can give you that solid base. Of course that means you do need to be objective about what you offer which isn’t always easy.
Thanks Susan,
Objectivity is important, its always great to have people around you that you trust and value their opinion, when you feel you’re too close to the situation to be objective.
Particularly so when you working independantly and daily social interaction doesn’t exsit like it would if you were in a traditional work environment. I know for myself..I have to conciously remind myself to “not be an island” so to speak.
[...] What marketing and bread have in common. More than you might at first think actually. Jackie Purnell breaks it all down for us in this great blog posts. Having a new perspective on marketing will help you better understand your company’s business model and how to make improvements. Respectfully Disobedient email post Print This Post Tweet [...]
Love the analogy! Each day we have to come up with more creative ways to market and get our names out there. We get bogged down in social interaction online to “talk up our businesses” and before you know it, we have forgotten about old style, face to face marketing. We are trying to get out in the community more like we did in the beginning. We know we have a good product and service, just have to make sure we let everyone else in on it.
Kim recently posted..Denver Service Call and Repair Costs
Absolutely true Kim
The value of getting out there in amongst the community cannot be understated. That is where the real business happens.
People want to connect. Its one of the basic human drivers…social media gives us a touchpoint, a base to build a relationship on.
It sounds like you’ve recognised what social media can and can’t do, and have struck a balance with it.
I wish you every success with the marketing of your business, and look forward to you stopping by again sometime soon.
PS…check out 15 ways to promote your business its a two part post, that may give you a couple of new ideas to get your message out.
You’re SO spot on, Jackie!
I’ve crossed paths with loads of people who think advertising and marketing are one in the same.
Nope! They’re two horses of very different colors.
I’m a gal who likes to keep things super simple …
Marketing is the “pull” and advertising is the “push”.
Love the analogy you used here. Now I’m dying for a slice of home-baked bread!
Melanie
P.S. Thanks for the follow over at Audio Boo. One of these days I’m going to have to get busy and actually record an audio there! LOL
If you’re interested in taking a peek at a couple of other cool free audio venues, Chirbit, Cinch, ipadio, and SoundCloud would be my recommendations.
Melanie Kissell recently posted..Vacationing In Burnout-ville
Hope you managed to find some bread to quell that urge
Glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for the heads up on the other audio sites, will be sure to take a look.
I’m yet to recored a boo too….sounds a little weird but I know you get my drift
Maybe we can coordinate our schedules and “boo” on the same day! LOL!
Thanks for showing up over at my blog to share your take on visiting Burnout-ville. We bloggers are busy bees and I know how time consuming blog hopping can be.
Melanie Kissell recently posted..Vacationing In Burnout-ville
Loved your Burnoutville post, I think its an occupational hazzard for us entrepreneurial types.
I think I might be living on the fringe of Burnoutville temporarily with the amount of stuff I want to get done before the jolly fat man arrives, I don’t think I’ll be boo-ing till well into the new year.
I haven’t even begun to think of Christmas presents yet…. I wonder where I can get me one of those elves….mmmmm
If you happen to find one of the elves, don’t keep him all to yourself!
I haven’t started to think of Christmas shopping, either. All I can say is thank goodness for those handy dandy gift cards.
Melanie
P.S. I’ve been living on the fringes of Burnout-ville in my personal life for about … oh, let’s see … the past thirty years!
Melanie Kissell recently posted..Answering Your Social Media Telephone
I’m not really an expert when it comes to marketing however one thing i’m sure of is to be creative in order to attract customers to purchase your products. I personally think that internet marketing is way difficult than traditional marketing. You have to consider a lot of things and the process is more complex especially in reaching out to your customers.
Hi Jim
Creativity is important, otherwise you don’t distinguish yourself from the pack.
I’m am curious to know why you think online marketing is more difficult?
Marketing is marketing, being online is just another medium to utilize in your delivery. If anything I think its made it far easier to connect with your customer base.
Social media has provided great opportunities to develop better customer relationships, be in front of your client base far more consistently than traditional advertising in press, radio or television mediums for a lot less dollars too.
Your customers are already occupying the online space…you can bank on it. If your competitiors are utilizing the online environment to their advantange, and you are not. Then who will be top of mind to them?
Would love to get a few more specifics on where you think the difficulties lie Jim, as you’re probably not the only one feeling this way, and maybe this discussion will help to overcome some of these issues.
Thanks for stopping by, appreciate your viewpoint.
As far as comparing the level of “difficulty” with traditional marketing and online marketing …
I would have to agree with you, Jackie. “Marketing is marketing”.
Unfortunately, traditional marketing methods aren’t delivering up the same old results they used to.
For example:
When is the last time you visited a place of business because you saw their ad in a newspaper?
How many radio and TV ads make you want to run out and buy a product or subscribe to a service?
Have you ever responded with a call to action thanks to a message you saw displayed on a billboard along the highway or on a bus bench?
How often do you open a phone book to find a restaurant or a dentist?
Old school methods are just that … old, stale, and ineffective.
Traditional methods aren’t any “harder” to implement than online methods. They’re just a surefire way to empty your wallet with not a lot of return on your investment.
Okay, I’ll step down from my marketing soapbox now.
Melanie Kissell recently posted..Answering Your Social Media Telephone
Totally agree Melanie, the traditional methods are not delivering and businesses are failing to see that they have to move with the market.
Some interesting stats in Australia say that 50% of business owners, still do not even have a website….so don’t even mention social media they probably think that’s some fancy pants name for a christmas party at a radio station.
While traditional media channels will continue to exist probably for a long time to come, the method in which they are used is what has to change.
Thanks again for your input Melanie and btw, feel free to jump on your soapbox whenever you wish, I wish more people would be willing to speak up on their views.
“I wish more people would be willing to speak up on their views.”
You, me, the lamp post, and a boat load of fellow bloggers wish that, too, Jackie!
And here’s another “wish” of mine …
I wish there were easier (better, faster) ways to entice and encourage people to read blogs like yours (well, okay — mine, too). LOL!
Remember that childhood story of the tortoise and the hare?
The tortoise moves quite a bit slower … but he ultimately wins the race.
My best tip if you’re interested in getting more eyeballs on your blog and more people sharing their viewpoints?
Easy.
Participate in a blogging challenge. I HIGHLY recommend Michelle Shaeffer’s opportunity — the “Ultimate Blog Challenge”. I’ve participated twice and I’m giving serious consideration to signing on again soon. I believe she’ll be hosting the challenge again in January.
Just saying …
Your blog rocks!
Melanie Kissell recently posted..Answering Your Social Media Telephone
Thanks Melanie, will be sure to look into the Blog Challenge. I know there’s a lot of people lurking out there, it would be nice if they came out of the shadows once in a while….might have to write a post on that one
Thanks again for being such a generous commenter, it is very much appreciated!
“Coming Out Of The Shadows” …
Sounds like a doggone good post to me!
Melanie Kissell recently posted..Answering Your Social Media Telephone
Liked the analogy, its the best way to explain to the non techie readers in a simple way. I like the way you try to open up to the readers.
I completely agree that marketing is the recipe and sales the consumption. Just as its important to use the ingredients in right amount while baking a bread its also important to use the right strategies in marketing.
Glad you enjoyed the analogy Bob. Bread is something that most people like even if they have their own favorite recipes. As you say, marketing is much the same, follow the recipe that gives you the best tasting bread for you, and you’re sure to be on a winner.
Thanks for your contribution
That just makes me hungry.
Kidding, i get what you did and it’s pretty smart. Comparing it with bread simplifies the process so that everyone can understand how this works.
Marcus recently posted..Brother HL-5340D High Speed Laser Printer Review
Thanks Marcus, we humans do have a tendancy to overcomplicate things. You know what they say…Bread is the staff of life, and thus Marketing is the staff of your business.
Now go get something to eat ;P
Hi Jackie,
I love how you get a point across in take people off guard style. It makes people take notice and wake up.
Marketing and sales can be difficult to totally understand yet essential that one does understand the differences to succeed in any business.
You made it very easy to understand and that’s an art unto itself.
Suzy recently posted..How Will You Know If He Is The One?
Hi Suzy
Thanks for the lovely comments, much appreciated.
Understanding is crucial. I’d hazzard a guess that many people would be far more successful if they took the time to understand the functions of their buisness, instead of looking for the “done for you” solution all the time…but thats probably a whole other can of worms to explore.