The Importance of Marketing!

This could be the title of any article written in the 50s, 60s or 70s in Brazil or the United States, or the 90s in Portugal, a way to explain to everyone the importance of a good marketing strategy. But reality tells me that it is August of 2020 and that it is still necessary to reinforce this issue as well as its reasons.

Not intending to present a guide for class 1 of any Marketing course, today I bring some of the reasons why Marketing assumes and will assume central importance in any organization.

The unlocking questions may be (and please do not you have all the answers!):

? Who is your customer?

? What is your client looking for?

? What should I offer?

? What is the perceived value of your product or service by your customer?

? Is your product or service worthy of trust by your customer?

? Does your customer interact with you?

? What is your customer most complaining about and praising?

? What sets me apart?

? Am I a taker or a maker?

? (…)

Did you know that the answers to all these questions are in Marketing? It is true!

The way you market your product or service will determine your success. Marketing brings together a set of methods, techniques, and tools to create and maintain demand, value, image and reputation, competition and much, much more. Do not risk ignoring Marketing!

Now find some reasons why Marketing is important because there are much more:

1. Marketing as a way of engaging with your customers

The company must get involved with its customers, whether current or potential. Marketing offers a set of methodologies to feed this involvement.

Creating engagement is distinct from disclosing any offer. To involve is to establish a conversation in which we share relevant information about a certain product or service. The creation of valuable content is now a priority. Content is King!

Today, social media is one of the best platforms through which you can seek this involvement with customers. When the client is involved with his organization, he feels a sense of belonging.

2. Marketing builds and maintains the organization's reputation and value

The development of a specific business area and its permanence in the market and the company's longevity are key points correlated with the value of that same business area or company.

Most marketing activities are focused on building value. The customer perceives value when he verifies that the company effectively meets his expectations and needs, thus feeling proud to be associated.

3. Marketing as a catalyst for the relationship between the company and its customers

I have already talked about value and now it is time to talk about trust. How can Marketing provide relationships of trust between a company and its client?

Segmentation helps companies to better meet the needs of their customers, thus gaining their trust. For example, a product management team ensures that the company delivers according to the agreement, making the customer loyal to the brand. Loyal customers will have the confidence to buy more of our products. The coexistence of trust and good understanding between the parties make commercial activities more fruitful.

4. Marketing as a communication channel

Marketing has communication tools that allow it to inform and communicate with customers.

Through a well-structured communication strategy, customers will know about the proposed products or services, as well as additional information, the so-called “rich content”, which will be useful to them, feeding what we call brand awareness and value.

The competition wakes up every day with the desire to communicate better than we do. We are required to have a constant voice. Remember, when we do not show up, the competition shows up!

5. Marketing leverages sales growth

Marketing, with its pre supports and its various post promotion strategies, leverage sales growth. When the customer is truly satisfied with your product or service, you will become an ambassador for your brand, being an enhancer of communication.

But do not forget; make sure you are offering quality products or services to complement your entire marketing investment, as the reverse of the medal can occur and with a lot of pain.

6. Marketing as a provider of insights

It is clear the idea that the whole Marketing strategy takes as its first objective to reach the right audience. However, we must be prepared with content focused on the characteristics of our target audience.

The various Marketing strategies allow defining the message to be transmitted. After several tests and after defining the structural messages of the communication strategy, we will have the basis to start our efforts and investments in Marketing. Marketing will define a metric and provide the necessary insights to eliminate the error.

7. Marketing and the company image

Most companies understand that they have the best product and the best solution on the market, but be careful, do not assume this position as irreducible!

In business as in life, the relationship needs to be nurtured and maintained. Marketing with all its support, allows us to have a good relationship with our customers because we know them, we know what they are looking for, their needs and how they want to receive our message.

It is not at all an old saying, it's the reality:

Don't focus on winning new customers before addressing the need to retain current ones.

8. Marketing and Management

Marketing helps the management team to make informed decisions. Companies are faced with questions such as what, when, for whom and how much to produce. A complex and time-consuming process determines the survival of your business. Thus, as a result, companies rely heavily on marketing mechanisms when making decisions.

But why should we believe in these mechanisms? Because they are the ones closest to the market, they are the ones who mediate the company and the market, because these are the mechanisms that work as a reliable link between the company and society.

Wishes for a great week. Stay safe!