Will your business survive without marketing? Why marketing Matters. 2 terms. 3 minutes.

Will a business survive without marketing?

No.

Most people have attributed the whole entity of marketing to promotional marketing. So when anybody talks about marketing they are talking about ads on TV, billboards, signage, Facebook, Instagram, radio, YouTube, LinkedIn etc. Promotional marketing is the most popular and easily conceivable method of marketing but it is not all that marketing is about.

The basic idea behind marketing is effectively communicating a message at a touchpoint for your product’s ideal customers.

That's all. Shikena!

In opposition to my answering No to the question Will a business survive without marketing?, some will say “A great product or service will market itself.” I am sorry but there are no products created by humans that are widely embraced that have not gone through the process of marketing.

Every surviving business in the world has done marketing.

A bold claim but true!

And this is because

Marketing = Effective communication + Customer touchpoints

Some businesses will claim “We have never done an ounce of marketing since the beginning of this business”

That is a lie. If you are sending a message to customers where they can see it to influence their buying decisions, you are marketing.

If you give a prospect your product to try and he loves it and recommends it to others like him. You have done marketing. It might be unintentional. But it is still marketing. Because you have passed a message effectively to another potential customer through a touchpoint (the first prospect: The recommender).

NB: Unintentional marketing is a sign that your product is great at doing what the customer wants or you are great at making your customers recommend your products.

Some luxury brands like Rolls Royce and Hermes might not promote their goods using TV ads because the TV might not be an effective touchpoint for their prospects. So, they market through events, celebrities, influential people, movies, billboards in wealthy cities, etc. which are crucial touchpoints to explore for them.

If you are not seeing any ads on luxury brands, it is most likely because you are not their target.

This brings us to the first and most important task for any business, knowing those we are solving a problem for, the Customers.

This can be hard but it is an indispensable step. And the best method to know them is through research where all your customer assumptions are tested. Customer research can be done by gathering data through the Internet, surveys, focus groups, one-on-one interviews, social media, etc.

The goal of customer research is to gain valuable knowledge about the problems your potential customers have that you can solve. It makes communicating the benefits gained by your consumers much more effective.

Let us dissect the meaning of

What are customer touchpoints?

Customer touchpoints are points of interaction with a customer. They can be anywhere, physical or non-physical, as long as your customers or potential customers make contact with that place or medium.

It can be walkways, billboards, transits, stations, websites, your smartphone’s notification bar, social media, events, shows, email, Search engines, forums, etc. It can be anywhere.

Touchpoints other than the popular ones like TV ads or Digital marketing might be underrated. So, it will be wise to explore other options.

In this article, I briefly explained how you can choose the best touchpoints.

What is effective communication?

Effective communication is the successful transfer of a message from one point to another point without loss of intent.

Using effective communication, you can convey benefits to your prospects to become customers, to buy continually, and recommend to others. And that does not happen immediately. Well-grounded relationships are not built overnight.

Putting relationships into perspective, marketing aims to establish and nurture the relationship between a business and its customers. Because your prospects will not always fall in love with you or your products at first sight. Relationships require continuous communication where trust is built and personal needs are satisfied.

Therefore, a business should always aim to meet its customers’ needs and more, over and over again. It should communicate to make an impression on the customer and engage their interests.

I hope this has helped you understand marketing better.

Adios