Thanks to the marketing blitzkrieg by Google and Facebook, marketing has been reduced to tactics. Specifically, online. ROI. CTR. CPM. The list goes on. The thing is, you can’t blame them. I can’t. They saw an opportunity and took it and they have won. They have basically changed an entire industry that has been in existence since the creation of time. Peacocks advertise. So do daffodils. History tells us that logos started being used in 1500BC.
Traditional media began with the printing press circa 1500, billboards in the 1860s, then came the radio then the TV. Since the 1920s traditional media (plus direct mail marketing) was the only way to advertise products and services until the mid 1990s with Google then in 2007 when Facebook launched its ad platform. After that, marketing everyone was or could become a marketer. All you need to do was boost a post. All you had to do was create pay-per-click ads and you were good. Is it that simple?
Not really. If it was, all companies would be making money hard over foot. Reality tells us that there are companies with good products that fail, while on the other hand, companies with average products excel. Observation shows that there are new companies that beat established organisations on similar categories leaving many people scratching their heads as to how that happened.
Experienced marketers know that humans are not rational. That should tell anyone that marketing is not easy. Marketing theory as defined by Jerry McCarthy describes the marketing mix, basically the 4Ps, the tenets that define the product, its price, its place (distribution) and how it is going to be promoted. Within these four tactical approaches in a get-to-market strategy is promotion. Within promotion there is word of mouth. There is Radio and TV. There is print. Activations and events. Email marketing. SMS marketing. Out-of-home advertising. Any more? Ah, yes. Google and Facebook. You get the point.
So what is marketing?
Marketing is basically made up of three elements:
Market segmentation
Strategy
Tactics and Execution
Let us dive in.
Market Segmentation
Behavioural science teaches that humans have two ways of navigating the world: system 1 and system 2. System 1 is innate. Unconscious. Heuristic. Fast. System 1 is instinctive. System 1 is what allows you to talk while driving, listen to music while working etc. System 2 on the other hand is rational. Slow. Engaged. System 2 is calculating how much you owe your mechanic versus work done. It is choosing what you want to eat in a new restaurant. All humans live in System 1 thinking most of the time meaning most people do not rationally know what they want/need. Marketers think they do. That of course is laughable.
Market segmentation seeks to understand consumer demands based on need. This is because consumers have varying inclinations based on demographics, psychographics, geography etc. Market segmentation allows for effective targeting in marketing strategy.
Strategy
Someone defined strategy as sacrifice i.e choosing what NOT to do. It’s the same in marketing strategy. You want to get to point B from point A in the fastest amount of time. Marketing strategy encapsulates three elements:
Targeting: this involves deciding which people are most likely to buy your product. Recent data reveals that you should do both narrow and wide targeting. Narrow for short-term sales, wide for long-term brand building.
Brand positioning: what do you want your prospect to think about who your product comes to mind? Positioning involves the 3Cs:
Can your company deliver the product?
Can your customers see value/distinction from
Your competitors?
3. Objectives: the desired results have to be defined by SMART goals. They need to be
Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Realistic
Time-bound
Tactics and Execution
These are the tools you need to win. In war, strategy is the 50,000 foot planning, the movement of resources the deception of the enemy. Tactics are like Shaka Zulu’s bull horn formation, USA’s shock and awe in Iraq.
In marketing, tactics are any actions marketers use to achieve their strategic objectives. They are fluid and should be used on the ground not as strategy. More importantly, they should be used in concert. Focusing on online video only is not effective. Ditto focusing only on billboards.
Marketing takes time. It takes effort and it needs a deep understanding of how the consumer thinks. It takes a robust plan that identifies consumers, creates salience and employs tools that ensure the battle is won. Anything less is as Sun Tzu opined, is the noise before defeat.
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