So just what is marketing?
Marketing has held many definitions since the Mad Men days. I saw that Seth Godin, on his blog back in March had this to say,
“In the Mad Men era, we added marketing last. Marketing and advertising were the same thing, and the job was to promote what was made.
In the connection era, the marketing is the product, the service and most of all the conversations it causes and the connections it makes.
Marketing is the first thing we do, not the last. Build connection and remarkability into your product or service from the start and then the end gets a lot easier. Build it into your app, your book, your movie, your insurance policy, and the red soles of your shoes.”
If you ask me, what is marketing, I view it as a much larger umbrella that covers the entire operation of your business. Marketing is in your customer service, your sales process, your networking, community outreach and advertising (if you’re doing any) both in your offline and online worlds.
What is Marketing?
Small business marketing is about meeting the needs and wants of your customers. It does not operate separately from your other business activities. Local business marketing is about understanding your customers and finding ways to give them the products and services they demand.
In today’s digital world, marketing is a multi-point conversation. Not a push out to the consumer but an invitation to step into the conversation. There are so many opportunities today to start and carry on the dialogue with your customers.
I find that the term marketing is sometimes misunderstood, vague or just plain different to so many small business owners which is why we need to redefine it now for local business. On my new internet radio show [shameless plug ALERT] ACT LOCAL, Marketing for Small Business, I started a dialogue that I’m hoping you’ll help me continue.
What is marketing?
Marketing for small business should be the number one thing on a local business owners to do list. Without it, you are not bringing new customers / clients to your door and you’re probably not serving existing customers to the best of your ability.
That’s why I decided to do ACT LOCAL Marketing for Small Business. It let’s me help as many SMBes as I possibly can, improve their profitability. And if I can succeed then I have done my part in saving the economy. What are you doing to change the world as we know it? What is marketing – it’s you number one business priority, period.