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Fact Sheet. 20 Key Facts relating to Marketing
Fact Sheet. 20 Key Facts relating to Marketing
  1. Marketing is at the Centre. Marketing is central to the Mission, Strategy and Success of the whole enterprise. It is about the position of the business in the market place, in relation to competitors and its chosen customers.

  1. A Vision or Strategic Vision sets out the aspirations for the future of a creative business or cultural enterprise. This Vision (or ‘Strategic Vision’) is the ‘dream’ of the future, a picture painted in words, which is intended to inspire people by appealing to the heart as well as the head.

  1. Success. Every person and organisation wants to be successful. However, ‘Success’ can be defined in many different ways, so it is vital that the enterprise clearly defines Success in its own terms.

  1. What does ‘Marketing’ mean?. This word is used to mean different things to different people. Often it is used to mean only promotional and selling methods. In fact the term Marketing also includes Marketing Strategy and Market Research.

  1. The Marketing Department. In many enterprises, the ‘marketing department’ is actually the advertising and promotion department. If we take a more strategic view of marketing, then the ‘marketing department’ includes also the owner, senior manager or Board of Directors.

  1. Strategic vs Operational Marketing. Strategic marketing deals with the ‘big picture’ of selecting particular products and focusing only on selected markets. Later, Operational Marketing (or Marketing Communications’) deals with the crafting of specific messages for specific markets. Strategic Marketing must come first.

  1. Marketing Strategy. A marketing strategy is a unique formula for each enterprise, based on an understanding of its mission, its position in the wider marketplace in relation to competitors, and its carefully selected markets.

  1. Selecting Markets. Strategic Marketing involves carefully selecting markets, market segments and market niches. Consequently, it involves deciding which markets not to deal with.

  1. Market Research. This can also be described simply as ‘listening to customers’. Market research projects do not need to be complex or expensive. We can devise simple and inexpensive ways to better understand our chosen customers’ perspectives. Fundamentally, market research is about attitude rather than techniques; a belief that we don’t know everything and that we can get useful ideas and opinions from our best customers.

  1. Competitive Advantage. We need to acknowledge that the marketplace is highly competitive. Some rivals are better than us at producing certain goods, or particular services, or dealing with some market niches. We can decide to compete with them directly, and lose. Or, more strategically, we can outmanouevre them and focus only on the things we can do better than them. We need to ask not ‘what can we do best?’ but ‘what can we do best in relation to competitors?. This is a matter of identifying and using our competitive advantage. Then we should focus on that thing at which we excel in relation to rivals.

  1. The ‘3Ms of Marketing’ This marketing communication technique is simple and highly effective. Firstly, for each product or service, identify the target market – or possibly several different markets. This is M1: the Market. Secondly, for each market, craft a message. If there are different markets for a product, each market may require a different message. Of course each message must emphasise customer benefits. This Message is M2. M3 is the Medium. This is the vehicle we will use to deliver each message to each market. The medium must be chosen because it is the best way to deliver a specific message to a particular market. By focusing on the market’s customers, we can choose a medium that is appropriate to them.

  1. The 3Ms of Marketing must be used in the right order: Market, Message and Medium. Some of the biggest mistakes and failures in marketing communication result from using the 3Ms in the wrong order.

  1. Different Messages for Different Customers. Even for the same product, different customers may value different things. So we may need to have different messages about the same product because different customer groups value different aspects of the product.

  1. The Best Medium of Communication. This is the one that is the most appropriate from the point of view of the customer who will receive the message and the message itself. Do not select a medium of communication just because you like it.

  1. Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms can be highly effective for marketing communications. However they should only be used if they are the logical best method for delivering particular messages to precise markets, as indicated by the 3Ms of Marketing.

  1. International Marketing must take into account different cultures and customs as well as different languages. To avoid disasters arising from a misunderstanding of customers’ perspectives in other countries, find a local partner who can give advice.

  1. Niche Marketing is usually more appropriate and effective than mass marketing for smaller enterprises in the creative and cultural sector. It is more feasible to find a small market and dominate it than to try to sell to many different markets. It has been said that there is no longer a ‘mass market’ but a ‘mass of niches’.

  1. Customer Benefits. Customers see our products differently than we do. They don’t care about what we think about our enterprises or products; they only care about what’s in it for them. So we must strive to understand what customers value. These might be intangible benefits such as status, community or a ‘feel-good factor’. Then we can emphasise these customer benefits in our marketing messages.

  1. Pricing. Marketing effectively can often lead to an increase in prices and profits. This can be the result of dominating a niche market. Higher prices can also be charged when we more fully understand all the benefits customers derive from our products.

  1. Marketing is everyone’s responsibility. Marketing is much more than what the ‘marketing department’ does. It is about aligning the whole business to the changing needs of chosen market segments. Therefore everybody in the enterprise plays a part in marketing.

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