I think Neil Russell-Jones strikes the nail perfectly in his introduction to the Marketing Pocketbook:
‘Marketing is not a department or a group of people.It is an ethos, that is a type of thinking that must flow throughout an organisation and permeate every aspect of its operations.’
What he means is that we should not leave marketing to ‘the marketers’ and we should not consider it a distinct activity from any other aspect of running our business. Every aspect of every organisation from a multi-million-mega-corp to a sole-trader; and from the biggest Government department to the smallest cog in the Big Society machine needs to reflect the need to get a positive message out.
The game has changed: the rules are the same
The game of marketing has changed out of all recognition in the last ten years. The web and social media marketing channels have taken over and present us all with a huge amount to learn about how to use them effectively. Luckily, for the moment, the rules are the same – in the sense that they are defined by human psychology.
How much that will remain true, is anybody’s guess. BBC’s flagship science programme, Horizon, recently looked at whether humankind is still evolving (of course we are) and touched on the impact of technological and culture changes. Generation C (if the label is invalid, some of the concept must be right) will grow up very differently, and this will inevitably influence neural wiring, as much as the presence or absence of music, language and shape influences how our brains develop.
What will always be true?
Whilst nobody can predict the future, one of the most powerful models to help us market products – whether formally through a ‘marketing strategy’ or informally, through telling people about what you do – is The Marketing Mix.
When we want to put our message out, we can choose to emphasise one or more of four elements:
- Product
What we are selling or offering to the public - Price
How much you are charging for your product or services - Promotion
How you will encourage potential users to try your products or services - Place
Where you will make your products and services available
There’s more…
One of the most powerful marketing messages is to spell out the benefits of a product or services and, when you have used everything to convince, find one more reason for the potential customer to buy: ‘and one more thing… if you buy at the exhibition, we’ll give you an extra discount.’
In this case, there is more. Neil offers his readers three more P’s:
- Physical evidence
or Proof that the product or service is good - Process
How to buy or subscribe or sign-up - People
Who you have in your organisation that will cause people to trust you
And more…
So let’s keep on adding:
- Positioning
How your products or services will sit in the market place - Push/Pull
The last 20 years have seen the rise of ‘viral’ marketing. The campaign is so attractive that people seek it out (pull) rather than act as recipients of your push - … what else
Use the comments to add your insight and ideas.
Management Pocketbooks you might enjoy
The Marketing Pocketbook by Neil Russell-Jones is now in its third edition. You can also take a sneak preview.
.
Other Management Pocketbooks may help you to market well:
