Why Is Marketing Important? How To Develop A Good Marketing Strategy

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It does not matter how great your product or service is, if people do not know your business exists, you’ll have a low chance of being successful.

Let’s just take a moment to think about some of our most admired brands today – like Apple, Amazon, and Google.

What would you do if these businesses did not exist? No, seriously. What would be different in your life without these companies?

What kind of phone would you have? Where would you shop online? Where would you go to find answers to your deepest questions and biggest problems?

Now, lucky for you, these businesses DO exist. And, you’re aware that they do.

But, how did you become aware of these companies? Can you recall the exact moment you first heard of them?

Who is responsible for making you aware of these companies? Is it Steve Jobs? Jeff Bezos? Larry Page?

No. These are great businessmen, but they are not why you know about these companies.

Marketing is.

It’s no secret that it helps power businesses. Even the biggest companies rely on marketing to reach their customers.

That’s why we’re going to fully explain why it is essential and what successful marketing consists of in this blog.

In the end, we guarantee you will see marketing as not just advertising, but a way to help your business grow!

Now, let’s talk marketing.

Marketing Myth Busted

Most people underestimate the importance of marketing.

It is not just about looking pretty. It isn’t just about throwing up some flyers, making some business cards, and setting up some cute social media pages.

You can learn it on your own, but it isn’t as straight-forward as many people think.

There are tons of different concepts to learn within the scope of marketing. And frankly, there is no business without it.

If you do not have customers to serve, you won’t have a booming, scalable, or fast-growing business.

For example, OneTrust, the fastest growing private company in the world, did not grow by 48,000% without marketing.

Despite this however, many people still think that marketing is a myth. But if it was so simple, then every single business would have no problem getting customers.

However, that’s not the case. Thanks to things like consumer preferences, demand, and this little thing called competition, it is vital for every business.

Not only do you have to create a product that people love, but you also have to create a product that people love more than the alternatives that already exist.

And when you do create this product, you have to make your target market aware of your product to even stand a chance at marketing.

Still, many businesses run away from marketing. They make bogus claims like “Marketing doesn’t work” or “Marketing is just too expensive.”

However, what they are really saying is that “I don’t really understand marketing” or “My marketing campaign isn’t getting the results I want.”

But not to worry. Our Digital LYFE Savers are here to save you from little-to-no growth and bad marketing. 

We know, and have seen, that good marketing works and bad marketing doesn’t work.

Marketing without a proven strategy or system doesn’t work. Marketing without a proper investment of time or money doesn’t work.

We know from experience that good marketing is not expensive. In fact, it’s bad marketing that’s expensive because it doesn’t work. 

Good marketing, regardless of the price, is not expensive because it will always add value.

It beats competition, delights customers, and returns a healthy return on your investment.

Okay, by now you probably understand why it’s important to have marketing, but you may not fully understand “What is good marketing?”

With that, let us fully breakdown what good marketing really means.

We’ll discuss its definition and its 4 major components, also known as the “4 P’s of marketing.”

What Is Good Marketing?

Marketing is the set of activities used to create, communicate, deliver, and exchange offerings that have value for customers.

In other words, your product is the value you trade to customers, who in turn, pay you a price for the value you deliver.

Hence, if the perceived value of your product or service is not understood, or people do not know about it, then you aren’t utilizing good marketing.

In order to deploy it, you must have a strong marketing mix.  

A marketing mix is a combination of factors, that you control, to influence consumers to purchase your products or services.

The most fundamental marketing mix consists of the 4 P’s of Marketing. 

The 4ps of marketing is what separates good marketing from bad marketing.

It is what separates superior products from inferior products, great advertisements from bad advertisements, and ultimately, increased revenue from no-growth revenue.

The 4 P’s of marketing are the fundamental building blocks of any marketing strategy.

And if you do not have these items in balance, or never heard of this before, chances are, you aren’t getting the most out of strategy.

What Are the 4 P’s of Marketing? 

The 4 P’s of Marketing are Product, Price, Promotion, and Place.

This mix addresses everything from the creation and appearance of your products to the pricing and promotion strategy of your product.

Many marketers view these as completely different components, but all factors must be in alignment in order for your marketing to actually see any results.

For example, a great product will not be sold with a bad promotion strategy. And a bad product will not be sold with a great promotion strategy.

Likewise, a great product with a price that is more than consumers are willing to spend will not result in more transactions.

And, a low-priced product that is not good, will also not last very long.

This is the reason your marketing mix is critical to the success of your business.

Now, let’s fully define each component of the 4 P’s. Starting with the first P- Product.

Product

When it comes to your Product, you need to clearly define the value derived from your product, design of your product, packaging of your product, and your branding.

The value that your product delivers must be clear. And the branding and design of your product must be trustworthy. 

If it is not, then everything else you do that follows won’t work.

You must have an effective product design to start with in order to achieve success.

Think about the brands we mentioned earlier – Apple, Amazon, and Google.

All have very effective product designs and strong value propositions to their customers. 

And, their brands have clear missions that consumers connect with. 

For example, since inception, Apple has prided itself on going against the grain and innovation.

Amazon’s brand is focused on customer-centricity, which Jeff Bezos calls “customer obsession.”

And Google’s mission is to help organize the world’s information and make it accessible and useful.

Hopefully, these examples show you how critical your product is within your overall marketing strategy. 

Now, let’s move on the 2nd P – Price.

Price

Price refers to the retail price of your products or services.

Fundamentally, your price should not exceed what the market is willing to pay for similar or alternative products that consumers perceive will allow them to extract the same value.

Your product’s value must be aligned with your price in order for consumers to trust and purchase your product.

Secondly, your pricing strategy may also involve incentives like discounts, coupons, payment plans, or credit. These incentives may also help spark more interest in your products.

Let’s look at Apple’s pricing strategy as an example.

Apple’s pricing strategy is unique in that an Apple device, like a computer, is more expensive than 90% of their competitors.

However, this is justified by Apple’s product.

Their product is highly differentiated from the market and people genuinely love their brand. Their customer loyalty is unmatched.

Most iPhone users resist trying a new phone because they don’t want text messages with their friends to go from “blue” to “green,” indicating that they are no longer in the “Elite iPhone club.” 

Because Apple is truly in a lane of their own when it comes to their products, discount incentives are not necessarily needed to motivate buying behavior.

However, they have run special promotions and discounts during events like Black Friday and other times throughout the year.

Ultimately, your pricing strategy must be aligned with the value of your product. As long as this is the case, your marketing mix will be in alignment.

Promotion

The 3rd P of marketing is Promotion.

Promotion refers to your advertising and sales strategy. The goal of Promotion is to make sure people are aware of your product and the value associated with it.

For example, many businesses choose to do digital advertising because it is much more cost-effective than traditional forms of advertising available.

In this case, those online advertising channels, like Facebook and Google, would be a part of your Promotion strategy.

Promotion is not only about advertising channels…

…but more importantly, how you will convey your messaging to consumers about why they need your product or service.

Your promotion strategy may also include videos, photos, and other forms of content that:

• elevates your brand,
• builds trust, and
• helps consumers understand the value of your product or service.

An example of a strong Promotion strategy would be Amazon. 

Many people do not know this, but Amazon was actually Google’s top advertiser for a period of time. 

Now, they are worth more than Google. 

There is no surprise why Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world.

It’s because they invested heavily into Promotion, which was backed by a strong Product with competitive Price-points.

As you can see, Amazon’s marketing mix is truly a Win-Win scenario.

Now, let’s look at the 4th P of Marketing – Place

Place

Place refers to where your products or services are being sold.

In a traditional brick and mortar environment, this decision was incredibly important because the location of your business determined whether or not consumers discovered your business.

Businesses would measure how much traffic or eyeballs their business location would be exposed to on a consistent basis, and make decisions on where to be located.

However today, in the internet world, Placement largely refers to your website – especially for online companies. 

In a digital environment, your website is the Hub of all marketing activities. It is where transactions occur.

Therefore, it is necessary to invest into an effective website design.

If people do not like what they see on your website, then you can be assured that they will not make purchases on it.

For example, let’s take a look at Apple.

Apple has traditionally placed  “Apple Stores” in major malls throughout the world.

Malls traditionally receive a high-volume of traffic, and as a result, a small percentage of passing traffic will come into Apple’s stores.

And online, Apple has an effective website. It uses a cutting-edge design and showcases their hottest products. 

There you have it – the 4 P’s of marketing – Product, Price, Promotion, and Place.

When these components are in full alignment with each other, you have the potential to develop a strong marketing mix.

And as we discussed, this marketing mix is what separates effective from ineffective.

Let’s bring everything together here.

We determined that marketing is the engine of any business. Without it, a business cannot run.

A business cannot exist without customers. And marketing is what makes customers aware of your business and the value associated with your products or services.

We addressed the most common objections to marketing, which were that it is too expensive or it doesn’t work. 

But we know this isn’t true, because the most successful public and private companies not only use marketing but have some of the best strategies.

Oftentimes, the people who strongly object to marketing are probably victims of bad marketing or do not fully understand what marketing is.

However, the answer to that is your marketing mix. This consists of the 4 P’s of marketing, which are Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. 

When these items are in alignment, you will have the opportunity to fully leverage the potential of marketing to grow your business.

As a small business owner, give your business the tools it needs to succeed. That starts with a good marketing strategy.

But if you really want to take your marketing from good to great, then the best option is to partner with the experts, like us!

We’re dedicated and ready to help. Contact us here or talk to an expert now at (404) 596-7925.