Marketing Demystified
Marketing Demystified
“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus coming to the Fairground Saturday,” that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity. And if you 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.”
While humorous, the above quote captures the reality for many of us with respect to marketing… so many words, but so little understanding, focus and disciplined application. Although few business owners and CEOs imagine themselves to be topnotch ‘marketers,’ marketing is merely a broad banner flying over several fairly straight-forward business responsibilities. Getting a handle on a few key aspects of marketing – out of the continuing barrage of supposedly indispensable ‘new’ ideas pushed by consultants and business writers – will serve us well in building a growing enterprise.
So, What is Marketing?
Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. It (1) identifies unfulfilled needs and desires, (2) defines, measures, and quantifies the size of the identified market and its profit potential, and (3) pinpoints the market segments that the company is capable of serving best, and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.
Based on this definition, marketing clearly isn’t solely the responsibility of a specific department or key supplier, but rather an integrated subject requiring top management leadership and company-wide team effort. Marketing involves thoughtful strategic planning based on an accurate understanding of current capabilities and marketplace opportunities, on-going customer feedback and analysis of market trends, and a variety of ways to communicate to and stimulate target markets to spur profitable sales growth.
Is improved marketing on the mind of the typical Christian business owner? In a recent nationwide survey of C12 members, improved strategic planning ranked as the single most pressing identified need (with 98% expressing current interest) from among a list of 19 specific business skills!
In classic marketing lingo, once we’ve identified and analyzed the various market segments, strategically selected our target market segments, and considered how to best position ourselves to that target, we establish the optimum ‘marketing mix’ for each of our offerings by selecting the ideal set of choices from among ‘the four Ps’:
Product: the good or service that is designed, produced, and offered for sale
Price: the cost or exchange required for the customer to obtain our product
Place: marketing/distribution channels where our product is available
Promotion: encompasses all sales communication aimed at creating awareness and attraction, including advertising, selling, sales promotion, merchandising, and public relations
Marketing Consistent with Our Purpose and Values
Before we leave the subject of marketing, let’s talk briefly about shaping our marketing messages consistent with our stated purpose and core principles as Christians. It’s so easy to fall into the typical advertising appeals and positioning statements of our times which appeal to human vanity and idolatry. As ambassadors of Christ, our focus should be on excellence in our service to others, while avoiding manipulation, exaggerated claims, fleshly appeals and deceptive offers that would do damage to our testimony and harm those we are privileged to serve. Marketing messages that are excessively self-congratulatory or feed ungodly desires, behavior, or thinking should be avoided. We should aim to point others to God’s best and highest purposes with trustworthy, best-in-class service of their legitimate needs in a manner that honors God, is family friendly, and encourages the eternal perspective. As Jesus said, “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” (Jn 5:44).
At the end of the day, excellent marketing is an expression of stewardship of the company He has given us to run for Him!
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