One area that I regularly help small businesses with is marketing. After all, marketing seems to be one of the more tangible investments business owners can make, as they can tie the result of a marketing effort directly to revenue. Having spoken to a few business owners about marketing, though, I noticed that often times people use the word “marketing” interchangeably with the word “selling.”
The sales process is actually just one activity of the entire marketing initiative. A good marketing planning consists of a thorough understanding of the following:
-who your customers are
-the features of the products or services your customers need or want
-at what price do you deliver these products or services at that would appeal to the customers, yet be profitable to your business
-through what channels do you most effectively deliver such products or services to your customers
-how would you promote to motivate purchase
Only after businesses have considered the above, and derived a competitive position and a compelling message, then would their next step be selling. Successful marketing planning will most definitely stimulate sales. Without a proper marketing plan, business owners may have a much more difficult time achieving their sales target as they are selling cold. A successful marketing plan can also build a brand and assert trust and credibility for the business in the long term.
This is not to say that selling is less important than marketing. Without a good sales approach and process, a business can have the best product/service, and all the marketing activities around it, but not able to push through. The trick in the success of your business growth is in how you can strategically combine sales into your marketing initiatives.