How marketing can drive your name in the Forbes Magazine?
Marketing! the hottest topic of all time among businesses, doesn’t it? In this article, we are going to talk about how marketing can alone affect your businesses. How you can able to change your lifestyle, your income, your growth by making marketing your cup of tea. In this article, you are going to understand
· What is marketing?
· The fundamental laws of marketing.
· Personal Branding: MassTrust Blueprint
· Traditional marketing vs. Digital marketing
· Integrated Digital Marketing
· CATT Marketing Funnel
This article will be useful for business owners, students, bloggers, future entrepreneurs, and mentors. So let’s dive deeper into the world of marketing.
What is marketing?
Marketing refers to activities done by a company or a person to promote their product and services to the customer. If a company promoting its product and services in such a possible way that the activity of the company will lead to generating sales so this is how marketing looks like.
Marketing is what you say and how you say it when you want to explain how awesome your product is and why people should buy it. It is all about knowing the primary motivating factor (the things that excite most or a problem from which people want to get rid of) of the customer and explaining how your product going to help them.
Let,s understand marketing by a simple example-
I am a great lover of bikes and adventures. I want to do a bike trip all over India and I need a bike that is easy to ride, having comfortable seats, a confident handler on the tarmac, good peak up, and it should be long enough to carry my luggage. And suppose I got to know about Royal Enfield Himalayan from any source of their marketing and if they succeed to strike my primary motivating factor by their marketing strategy then I will be easily convinced to purchase Himalayan and that’s how marketing works.
“the art of telling stories so enthralling that people lose track of their wallet” — The New York Times
The fundamental laws of marketing
1. The Law of Leadership
It’s better to be first than it is to be better
a) Many people believe that the basic issue in marketing is convincing prospects that you have a better product or service. The basic issue in marketing is creating a category you can be first in. It’s the law of leadership: It’s better to be first than it is to be better. It’s much easier to get into the mind first than to try to convince someone you have a better product than the one that did get there first.
You can demonstrate the law of leadership by asking yourself two questions
· Who is the first prime minister of India? Jawaharlal Nehru, right?
· What’s the name of the second prime minister of India? Not so easy to answer, is it?
The leading brand in any category is almost always the first brand in the prospect’s mind. Coca-Cola in cola, Gillette in safety razor, Xerox in plain-paper copier, Colgate in a toothpaste. Xerox, the first plain-paper copier, became the name for all plain-paper copiers. People will stand in front of a Canon or a Sharp or a Kodak machine and say, “How do I make a Xerox copy?” In India, Colgate is a synonym for toothpaste. You will ask for the Colgate when the box clearly says Pepsodent.
Let’s understand by another example-
People tend to stick with what they’ve got. If you meet someone a little better than your wife or husband, so will you divorce, no!
b) Not every first is going to become successful. Some firsts are just bad ideas that will never go anywhere.
2. The Law of the Category
If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.
a) What’s the name of the third prime minister of India? If you didn’t know that Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second prime minister of India, you might figure you had no chance at all to know the name of the third prime minister. But you do. It’s Indira Gandhi. Now, is Indira Gandhi as the third prime minister of India, or as the first woman to do so?
b) If you didn’t get into the prospect’s mind first, don’t give up hope. Find a new category you can be first in. It’s not as difficult as you might think. Patanjali Ayurved and Dabur India Limited are the leading toothpaste brand in the category of ayurvedic.
3. The Law of the Mind
It’s better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.
a) Pan American World Airways (aka Pan Am), founded in 1927, was the largest international air carrier in the United States. The company was known as an industry innovator and was the first airline to offer computerized reservation systems and jumbo jets and now they are gone. Is something wrong with the law of leadership? No, but the law of the mind modifies it. It’s better to be first in the prospect’s mind than first in the marketplace. Being first in the mind is everything in marketing. Being first in the marketplace is important only to the extent that it allows you to get in the mind first. For example, IBM wasn’t first in the marketplace with the mainframe computer. Remington Rand was first, with UNIVAC. But thanks to a massive marketing effort, IBM got into the mind first and won the computer battle early. The law of the mind follows from the law of perception. If marketing is a battle of perception, not product, then the mind takes precedence over the marketplace.
b) Marketing is a means to an end. The purpose of marketing is to build a brand and captures a position in the minds of all the consumers.
4. The Law of Perception
Marketing is not a battle of products; it’s a battle of perceptions.
a) Many people think marketing is a battle of products. In the long run, they figure, the best product will win. Marketing people are preoccupied with doing research and “getting the facts.” They analyze the situation to make sure that the truth is on their side. Then they sell confidently into the marketing arena, secure in the knowledge that they have the best product and that ultimately the best product will win. It’s an illusion. There is no objective reality. There are no facts. There are no best products. All that exists in the world of marketing are perceptions in the minds of the customer or prospect. The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion.
b) Let’s understand by an example
Have you ever wondered about bottled water companies? Did anyone ever think that someone will come and sell water by filling it in the bottle and set up an empire worth millions and billions? Water is not an ideal product. It is easily available everywhere and that is the game of perception.
Some other laws of marketing
· Marketing is not all about selling but it is about sending’s the right message, to the right person, at the right time.
· Marketing is all about keeping the existing customers happy by communicating with them so that they can remain customers for life. Marketing is just a game of developing trust with lots of people at the same time.
· Marketing starts before creating the product. It starts with understanding the customer need’s that leads to creating a product that fits.
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” — Seth Godin
Personal Branding
· Your personal brand is how you promote yourself.
· It is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want your followers to see.
· It is the telling of your story, and the impression people gain from your online and offline reputation.
· It is the telling of your story, and how it reflects your conduct, behavior, spoken and unspoken words, and attitudes.
Why Would You Want a Personal Brand?
· Your personal brand can be vital to you professionally. It is how you present yourself to current and potential clients.
· It gives you the opportunity to highlight your strengths and your passions. It helps people believe they know you better, and people have much higher trust in those they feel they know.
· A personal brand becomes an influencer and a brand ambassador for the companies that they run.
· A personal brand can give rise to many brands from your influence.
The Evolution of a Personal Brand
How you can be your own personal brand? Here the technique using which you will be your own personal brand.
MassTrust Blueprint
· Learn: You have to learn new skills through concepts, facts, and procedures. Understand the concepts. Remember the facts and practice the procedures.
· Work: Put your new-found skills to work. Go from practice to implementation. Implementing it in the real world will give you a better understanding.
· Blog /Vlog /Make Contents /Write Books: Write blogs, make videos, make content related to what you have learned and experienced through your work. When you implement your knowledge through blogs and videos and books then you understand it better and also you will start building your personal brand.
· Consult: Now that you have a personal brand through your blog, your videos, have work experience, and have learned the fundamentals, start consulting other businesses instead of working for them.
· Mentor: Mentors others who want to become like you. Mentoring will help you scale your understanding to a whole new level.
· Startup: Start your own product or services business with the understanding that you have developed about the market, the problems, and your own skills.
Let’s understand the above points by example:
Suppose you are passionate about Health and Fitness.
· First you have to learn more and more about health and fitness. You have to learn various exercises; you have to research your body type, about your diet and supplements. You have to learn how to monitor your fat loss, muscle gain, body weight.
· Then you have to work as a fitness trainer in various gyms and fitness centers.
· Now you can able to share your information and learnings through blogs, vlogs, books. You can able to create content related to health and finesses and eventually you will start building your personal brand.
· Start consulting one and one gym trainers, sportsperson, gym owners, and supplements companies.
· Start mentoring the people; help them to achieve their fitness goals. Mentoring will help you to scale your understanding to a whole new level.
· Now you can finally start your own Fitness Centres Chain, Supplements Company.
“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.” — Scott Cook
Traditional marketing vs. Digital marketing
Why do we need to discuss traditional marketing vs digital marketing? Running a successful business is all about leveraging the right kind of marketing techniques in order to reach out to your target audience and convert them into leads or customers. By gaining clarity on the digital marketing vs traditional marketing aspect, a business can get a better idea of which marketing method is appropriate and how it is should be applied.
Traditional marketing
Traditional marketing refers to any type of marketing that isn’t online. This means print, broadcast, direct mail, phone, and outdoor advertising like billboards. From newspapers to radio.
· Advantages of traditional marketing
a) Ads can reach millions of populations at one time.
b) Finding ads in newspapers, magazines, or on billboards is easy.
c) Any kind of person can be a target of this marketing. No digital literacy is important.
d) Traditional marketing has longevity and permanent.
e) Ads are impactful and memorable.
· Disadvantages of traditional marketing
a) Expensive as compared to digital marketing.
b) Traditional marketing is one way. You can’t do a follow-up because no direct interaction is there.
c) Results are hard to measure because it reaches millions of populations.
Marketing which is using digital channels such as websites and social media as tools for marketing communication is known as digital marketing.
· Advantages of digital marketing
a) Cheaper than traditional marketing.
b) You can do direct interaction with your audience.
c) You can monitor your results. It’s measurable.
· Disadvantages of digital marketing
a) Digital ads can be as annoying.
b) Digital marketing constantly evolves.
c) Digital literacy is important.
d) Digital ads are not memorable.
Integrated Digital Marketing
what is digital marketing is made of? The major components in digital marketing are:
· Content Marketing
· Search Engine Optimization
· Search Engine Marketing
· Email Marketing
· Web Analytical
There are many more components in digital marketing and if you want to become a digital marketing expert you should have knowledge of almost every component but these components are major components.
In integrated digital marketing all components of digital marketing complement each other.
You can see that in the integrated digital marketing process flow, content marketing sits at the center. An email list can drive traffic to your content and content can help you to build your email list. Then you have a search engine that can switch drive traffic to your content and because you have quality content, the search engine drives traffic to you. And similarly, social media will help with your content and vice versa. Finally paid ads can boost your entire digital marketing strategy. You can either drive traffic from paid ads and build your email list directly or you can use paid ads to boost your content. Once all this is done this digital marketing helps you to drive sales.
CATT Marketing Funnel
Do you have a great product or service, but no one seems to be buying? You need a marketing funnel.
What are you understanding by marketing funnel? A marketing funnel is a way of breaking down the customer journey all the way from the “awareness” stage (when they first learn about your business) to the “purchase” stage (when they’re ready to buy your product or service). CATT marketing funnel plays important role in digital marketing. Let’s understand the CATT marketing funnel,
Wealth=n^CATT
your wealth depends on five-factor
n= Niche
C= Content
A= Attention
T= Trust
T= Translation
Niche(n):
A niche is a focused, targeted area that you serve particularly well. It is a combination of your passion, your talent, and there should be market requirements for your passion. Your success and wealth depend on the niche you choose.
Content(C): Create content related to your niche. This content going to attracts people. Attract people through blog posts, videos, lead magnets, live webinars.
Attention(A): Drive the attention of the public to your content by using SEO, Social Media, Paid Ads, and Referrals. This is going to help you with integrated digital marketing.
Trust(T): Build trust with your audience with tripwires, marketing automation, and re-targeting. Trust is the most important stage in the CATT marketing funnel. Trust is going to help you to generate the leads.
Translation(T): Convert your leads into customers with natural sales methods.
Conclusion
In the end, I just want to say marketing is not creativity it is science, and anyone with passion, dedication, and hard work can learn marketing and change their business growth, lifestyle, and build their own definition of success. Understanding the laws of marketing, the power of personal branding, and the marketing funnel can drive you far ahead in business and who knows you will be the next shining star of Forbes Magazine?
so are you ready to see your name in Forbes Magazine?
(This article is a part of Digital Deepak Internship Program)