Joe Smith
It’s Your Business
“Marketing methods in a sense are inclusive of everything that is done to influence sales.”
So wrote Ralph Starr Butler and Herbert F. Debower in their book titled Marketing Methods and Salesmanship.
Not exactly a blockbuster as everyone today is well aware that marketing, no matter what you are offering, is all about sales. What is interesting though is that the book was published in 1914 and in it they alluded to the fact that the word “marketing” was becoming more popular.
While the basic definition has not changed in over 100 years, the way we deal with the dynamics of its application has.
The most obvious is in the business environment. Today’s business world operates at a far greater pace than could have been imagined at the turn of the last century. The products, the services, manufacturing and new technology have dramatically altered the face of business. Most telling is the speed at which decisions have to be made. What once took days or weeks are now being decided upon in minutes and seconds.
Perhaps most important of all are the methods of communication and the ability to build relationships at a level unprecedented in history. With what is available today, marketers can pinpoint with a certain degree of accuracy who their best prospects are and how they can reach them.
Outbound marketing for decades was the primary method of reaching out to potential customers but over the years this has been supplemented with inbound marketing that is designed to help people find you. The best example of this is search engine optimization.
Then, of course, today we have niche marketing that caters to a select group of consumers. And when budgets are tight we can fall back on guerilla marketing which relies on doing something unusual and often newsworthy to grab people’s attention.
Another tactic that is quite popular today is affiliate marketing, where two or more non-competitive companies join forces to not only stretch budgets but build stronger relationships with their customers.
The above are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Consideration must also be given to social marketing, cause marketing, direct marketing, green marketing, global marketing and even de-marketing to name just a few.
Then, of course, we have the whole world of new technology and the IOT which will undoubtedly give rise to a whole new generation of marketing tactics that perhaps have not yet been given a name.
While marketing programs and strategies have changed, good marketing practices will always remain the same. They always begin with good analysis, understanding your customer, well thought out strategy development and using the right communications tools.
The bottom line … good marketing no matter what you call it always leads the way to customer satisfaction and increased sales.
Joe Smith is a communications consultant and an accomplished fine artist. He can be reached via email at joesmith@shaw.ca
