Marketing is often considered as manipulative, unimportant or an evil strategy. Some even compare marketers with swindlers why just try to get our money.
The real value of marketing appears when we understand it as a communication tool. Basically, marketing is a way to influence others to take desired actions.
In a similar way as companies use marketing tools to achieve better results, individuals can also achieve great results by improving their personal marketing.
Marketing is an empty word if it is not related to value, meaning added value for those who receive our products or services.
“Marketing without value is manipulation” -Eben Pagan
Do our products or services really create benefit for our customers? And do they really provide the added value that was promised?
If the two answers are yes, we can use marketing for promotion, as one of the most important approaches to offer and sell, to impress customers or investors.
In order to understand simply why we need marketing, let’s take a look at some examples from daily life; · If you are looking for a job and you have enough potential, but can’t get it, you probably need to learn about marketing. · Many Politicians are great marketers. · E-commerce websites use sales counters as input for marketing. · Even if you can’t find a girlfriend/boyfriend, probably some experience in marketing would help. How can we improve our marketing? If you are new to marketing, here are some tips for you to work on your skills;
Empathy Understanding others is the key. It could be a target audience or simply your beloved ones. We need to truly understand them. Therefore, we need to listen to what they say. Their needs and frustrations, expectations and aspirations. The more empathy we have for others, the better will our marketing work.
Observation Analyze the people who are great in marketing and sales, observe opinions in your social circle. Check out body language, chosen words, voice... How would you be telling the same messages if you had to? The difference can be surprising, and an eye opener. Consume Content Read books, articles and watch videos of great marketers, in other words consume whatever they produce. My latest book recommendation is `The 22 immutable marketing rules` and `Thought Viruses` (not sure if we can mention books)
Getting Over the Social Conditioning Let’s face it, most people are not born as great marketers and there seems to be a natural bias towards marketing in most cultures around the world. And if we have people around us who are negative about marketing, we might better take a step back to understand the reasons and try a smart approach that might be accepted. Also, social conditioning can affect our attitude towards marketing more than we think. Practice, learn and never give up Stamina (or Persistence or Resilience) is another highly important aspect here, as it is in every aspect of life, together with Patience. Experienced marketers say that it takes at least one year to learn the basics of marketing, so don’t give up.
Sales success will be the reward your persistence.