Blurred Lines: Marketing and its Role in Business

<div> Blurred lines surround us. </div> <div> <div> • Separation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state">church and state</a> • <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html">Healthcare reform </a> • <a href="http://bit.ly/bFSro">Immigration policy</a> • <a href="http://bit.ly/12K2eD">Marriage equality </a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_plan#cite_ref-7">Business planning </a>(wait, what you say?) Let’s make just a few things more black and white. PR = Marketing. Marketing = Business Planning. Now before you raise a hand to argue the matter, please give me five to state my point. When a business begins to falter, where we do point fingers? Ultimately, the steering committee (the small business owner or F500 CEO) gets the blame. “Where did we stumble, what the hell went wrong?” Often it comes down to poor planning. This isn’t about how well an organization is prepared for an economic downturn; it’s about poor execution of an integrated strategy. When tough times come, one of the best places to re-visit is the planning process –a.k.a. marketing. That’s right, marketing. Because marketing for many, especially small business owners, is either overlooked or sorely under-appreciated for what it can do to drive business. Yes, we’re talking about revenue being driven by marketing…not just cold-calling, not just networking, not just having the most amazing new gadget in the marketplace. This brings us to a premise point – what is marketing? Is it a strategy, or is it a tactic? Is it fliers or Super Bowl ads? And what the heck really even works to drive bottom line? It’s a known fact that many business owners put marketing at the bottom of their list because they either a.) don’t have time, b.) aren’t familiar enough with marketing and its true role in their larger business model, or c.) are concerned it’ll become overhead that implodes on the core infrastructure of their business – the product or service that they’re building a business around. So before you too put marketing at the bottom of your to-do list, let’s establish a few things. What is Marketing? A quick look-up on Wikipedia will tell you, it’s “a communication process…” Consider what that means to your business. This definition and others provided by AMA (<a href="http://www.marketingpower.com/Pages/default.aspx">American Marketing Association</a>) and CIM (<a href="http://www.cim.co.uk/home.aspx">Chartered Institute of Marketing</a>) will go on to tell you that it’s a process by which you persuade others, be it groups or individuals, to buy, think or become an advocate of whatever it is you’re marketing. Let’s go back to the word – communication. Communication is telling someone something. Let’s take that one step further. Would you attempt to run a business without telling anyone about it? Never. The thought is nerve-racking. But many do. By relying on word-of-mouth or worse, planning without marketing in their purview. Point made. Your business would be flawed without a communication strategy. And your business would be flawed without putting marketing efforts, the larger voice and communication vehicle of your business, at the forefront of your planning process. If results are a priority, marketing/PR must be woven into your business. Marketing’s Role in Business 1. Marketing can, and should, play a significant role as your PR vehicle without ever touching the news wires. Twitter is PR, Facebook is PR, email marketing is PR. Marketing = PR because it’s the channel changer for your communication strategy. PR, as it’s more traditionally used/known, is just an extension of your larger marketing plan. 2. Marketing should be engrained in the business planning process. Aren’t they asking similar questions? “What are my revenue goals? Who is my target audience?” Marketing is the enabler of your business plan. Its success (or lack thereof) is something your CFO and CEO should monitor on a weekly basis. Marketing = Business Planning. Many business owners get tripped up by assuming PR lives here, Marketing lives over there and business planning happens way before any of the former are being considered. Stop right there. Break down the walls; shorten the gap in the hallways between the business departments. It’s back to what marketing is – it’s your communication source, the voice of your organization. Without it, you have no foothold against your competition. You have no “plan” without it. Let’s Break it Down Here are some tangible topics to evaluate in the planning process. It’s your chance to bring Marketing to the table in the boardroom. What are my revenue goals? Business Objective: What do I, or the larger organization, wish to achieve in one, three, and five years? How will marketing help me get there? Who is my target audience? Business Objective: What products are services are my best assets? What are most scalable to generate my core revenue stream(s)? Who is my most likely to purchase or recommend my product/service? What action do I want my audience to take? Business Objective: Identify what’s needed to drive revenue and align your marketing channels around it. Better yet, establish monthly KPIs (i.e. new purchases, new sign-ups) to measure your success rate. Tweak your plan from there. In short – diminish the blurred lines. Consolidate efforts with a greater emphasis on marketing to drive your business forward.   </div> </div> 2009-09-24T19:27:40Z

2009-09-25T15:30:16Z

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blurred-lines-marketing-and-its-role-in-business

2009-09-25T08:29:11Z

2009-09-25T15:30:16Z

It's a little blurry out there - Marketing, PR, Advertising and where it all fits within a business model. Marketing actually embodies all of these in a single planning process. Read more to find out how.

Blurred Lines: Marketing and its Role in Business

2009-09-25T15:30:16Z