Overview

“The activity of presenting, advertising and selling a company’s products/services in the best possible way.” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Marketing covers the wide range of activities involved in making sure that an organisation is continuing to meet the needs of its customers and getting value in return.

It is fair to say that the marketing issues confronting a sole trader or small business are precisely the same as for those of an international corporation. The only real difference is in the scale.

It is crucial for companies to produce a marketing plan/strategy.

Marketing activities include both “inbound marketing” to find out, for example, what groups of potential customers exist, what their needs are, which of those needs you can meet, how you should meet them, etc. Inbound marketing also includes analysing the competition, positioning your new product or service (finding your market niche), and pricing your products and services. “Outbound marketing” includes promoting a product or service through tools such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations and exhibitions/events.

Inbound marketing includes market research to find out:

• What specific groups of potential customers/clients might have specific needs
• How those needs might be met for each group (or target market)
• How each of the target markets might choose to access the product, etc. (its ‘packaging’)
• How much customers/clients might be willing pay and how (pricing analysis)
• Who the competitors are (competitor analysis)
• How to design and describe the product such that customers/clients will buy from the organisation, rather than from its competitors (its USP or unique value proposition)
• How the product should be identified — its personality — to be most recognisable (its naming and branding)

Outbound marketing includes:

• Advertising and promotions (focused on the product)
• Public and media relations (focused on the entire organisation)
• Customer service
• Customer satisfaction

Too often, people jump right into outbound marketing without looking at the inbound process first. As a result, they often end up trying to push products onto people who really don’t want them. Effective inbound marketing often results in much more effective, and less difficult outbound marketing and sales.

Outbound Marketing ‘Tools’

• Branding
• Advertising and Promotions
• Public and Media Relations
• Internet Marketing
• Social Networking
• Exhibitions and Events

Here are some typical benefits companies can realise from an effective marketing programme:

• It differentiates a company from the competition
• It creates a flow of new business leads
• It keeps the company in the minds of customers and prospects
• It will give the company a strong hold on the marketplace
• It will communicate a company’s expertise and knowledge – “Here’s what we can do for you”
• It will assist a company in implementing a long-term strategy
• It will be customer-oriented
• It will be a vital tool in customer retention

Engaging Support

At ibd we have an immense advisor ‘bank’ with marketing expertise as just one of its disciplines. This includes advisors with experience of B2B, B2C markets to not-for-profit organisations. We can cover sector specialism for any of the inbound or outbound marketing requirements.

We want to make it straightforward and simple to engage with ibd advisors:

• The first step is to create a brief for a prospective advisor, whether it is a one-off project or a longer-term relationship that is required.
• Via ibd head office, make contact with an individual or number of prospective advisors with whom you’d like to open discussions.

The timeline for creating a shortlist and taking a decision is dependent on your own company processes. You may want to invite an advisor to your offices so they can get a feel for your business and meet any additional members of our management team.

Need to know more?

If you would like to know more about this specific subject area, please contact the ibd head office on 08448 223660.