Outlines why marketing is important for business success, how it differs from advertising and what makes it strategic and targeted in today’s business world.
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Marketing isn’t just for big corporations. Small and medium-sized companies — even one-person operations — in particular should use marketing to strengthen their competitive position and secure their sales in the long term.
Marketing is the consistent alignment of the entire company with the market. It should recognize changes and shifts in needs in order to build up competitive advantages in good time. Even if you have a small business, you want to achieve goals with the production of a new brochure or flyer. Sometimes a short-term goal is enough to bring a breath of fresh air into your own company. However, we would like to give you a few points about the importance of marketing to think about for long term success.
Why marketing is important
The difference between marketing and advertising
Marketing is not just advertising, nor is it a separate operational function. Marketing means market-oriented and strategic corporate management – and that is what most entrepreneurs do anyway. Marketing also includes advertising measures such as the customer letter, your company website and the references of your customers that you present on it. Or the summer party that you organize for customers.
Because invisibility does not lead to sales
If nobody knows that your company and your products and services exist, then nobody will buy from you. If the customer does not understand what specific benefits your product has or does not know what you can do better than your competition, then you will hardly be able to sell your products and services. Targeted marketing counteracts this.
Because it ensures long-term success
Marketing is a sustainable investment in your company’s success . By closely monitoring the market, you can, for example, align your products and services more closely to the needs of your customers and secure long-term sales. You can also create a targeted demand for your products in the market.
Because strategic and targeted marketing gets the best result
Do not rely on selective advertising measures – the effect is low and the effort high. Instead, it is better to rely on targeted, holistic measures that you select on the basis of well-founded analysis. This is more effective and turns your marketing into a value driver.
Because customer search behavior has changed
If implemented correctly, you can use marketing to reach the right target group in the places where they are actually looking for products. The “where” has changed a lot in recent years. In the worst case, anyone who does not position their company correctly will not be found at all.
Because customer buying behavior has changed
Because not only the search behavior, but also the purchasing behavior of the new generation of customers has changed. Not only do customers buy more online, they also make more informed purchasing decisions. As a company, you have to respond to this and present yourself and your offer accordingly in advance. This is the only way for the customer to make an informed purchase decision!
Because marketing has never been cheaper
Where high costs used to be expected – e.g. for expensive print advertising or even TV advertising – there are now many other channels that are not only easy to use, but also free. Just think of social media platforms or even Google My Business . Companies that do not use this opportunity are almost to blame!
Because marketing works even when the money tap is turned off
This is different with marketing measures, which may have few or no short-term effects, but have a wonderful effect in the medium to long term. For example, blog posts have the potential to attract potential customers to their own website many months after they have been published – and that completely for free and automatically!
Because marketing makes your business more tangible
In times of e-commerce, customer brand loyalty has dropped many times over. The number of valid options increases from the customer’s point of view. In many places, only the price dominates. The company behind the product often becomes a minor matter.
Marketing tries to counter this effect and to build a face behind the brand. Marketing effectively ensures that your own brand becomes more tangible and therefore stays in the mind of the customer for longer. A great advantage when you consider how many advertising messages each customer is confronted with on a daily basis these days!
Because marketing is more measurable than ever before
Those who want to measure their marketing activities were often lost in the past. After all, print advertising is sometimes very difficult to measure. In the best case, only obvious correlations can be made.
It is different in online marketing, where the effectiveness of virtually every campaign can be measured. With the necessary specialist knowledge, you quickly get to the point at which you as a company understand exactly how many euros have to be invested in a deal or new customers.
Because marketing now thrives on the expertise of your brand
Marketing nowadays lives from added value. Potential and existing customers do not just want to be confronted with offers, but above all with content that enriches their own everyday life. What an added value is in detail differs from target group to target group.
However, it is important to know that added value can be created primarily through one’s own knowledge. These are packaged in appropriate content forms and presented to the customer. Companies that have a lot of knowledge and on top of that manage to find the right content ideas quickly come to a point with their marketing at which the whole topic becomes a worthwhile investment!
Online vs traditional
Even if you haven’t yet implemented online marketing for your business, you probably know some of the benefits it offers. Moving from a traditional form of marketing and advertising to an online model may seem difficult, but it is the only way to ensure your business survives in the digital age.
Companies that use online marketing effectively benefit from numerous advantages, such as an almost unlimited range, which has a very cost-effective effect on the marketing budget. We’ve identified some of the top reasons online marketing is important for B2B and B2C businesses.
Your prospects and customers are looking for you online. Traditional marketing used to use a push approach to deliver messages in the form of advertisements, direct mail, and other vehicles to prospects. Today the people you want to reach are already online looking for you, your products and solutions. Why not just make it easy for them?
A study of internet users shows that 80% of people use the internet to do advance research about products and services they are interested in and may want to buy.
Research conducted by Forrester Research shows that executives use online search as a starting point for finding solutions. In addition:
- 74% of B2B buyers research more than half of their products and companies online before making purchasing decisions.
- 81% of people do research online before making a major purchase.
Mobile digital marketing is the most potential marketing these days as most of the people use their cell phones every day to search for information and buy products. In fact, 18% of local searches performed on mobile result in one-day purchases. If you don’t have a strong online presence, you will easily lose sales. It’s just smart to be where people are already – whether it’s information research or actual buying activity – and a big reason online marketing is important to businesses of all sizes.
Online marketing increases user engagement
In contrast to traditional marketing strategies for advertising and direct mail, online marketing offers prospects and customers the opportunity to interact with you. This can take the form of getting more information about your business, as well as making direct purchases or driving traffic to your store.
Social media, blogs, chatbots, and other interactive tools provide a format for two-way communication that fosters positive relationships. People see you as a source of information and / or a solution provider as opposed to a company that just wants to sell them something.
Turn organic visitors into customers
Unlike traditional, paid marketing strategies that drive visitors to a website, online marketing generates organic traffic that is free for you. Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing, as well as social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Youtube can naturally direct prospects and customers to your website using keywords and search queries.
-> 61% of digital marketers state that improving their SEO and organic presence is their top priority in online marketing. 72% of online marketers consider content creation to be the most effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.
That leads to the art and craft of creating content that is SEO optimized. SEO sends signals to search engines to find websites with relevant content. Seasoned marketers know that writing a great SEO copy will help these search engines drive potential customers to their website based on words they would use to find what they need. The content of the website must be carefully compiled with the appropriate keywords in order to improve the ranking in online searches.
Marketing online is inexpensive
The days of big advertising budgets and mass communication are over. Today’s digital customers want one-on-one interactions with as much personalization as possible. Fortunately, creating online marketing campaigns doesn’t require large budgets. Investing in content writing, website development, campaign analytics, and other elements is significantly less than the cost of mass campaigns with volatile returns.
It is ‘on’ around the clock
Businesses of all sizes can generate higher revenues with less investment using online marketing efforts. While this is a great incentive, it is also important to note that online marketing has no end. Your company is open 24/7 to a global market and offers endless opportunities for engagement and revenue.
