The Science of Marketing

By Seema Singh

What will you do if someone told you that Marketing is actually based on science and not creativity? My gut says that you would think that the person has little or no knowledge about Marketing. You would probably also feel the need to hand over a book on ‘Fundamentals of Marketing’ to the person to help them clear their concepts. But, what if I told you that the person is absolutely right. In fact, for me, this person has hit the bull’s eye on understanding the Fundamentals of Marketing.

Surprised?

Well! In this article, I would be breaking some myths related to Marketing and also tell you about the Science behind it.

But before I do that, here’s another food for thought.  

Did you know that for any successful business to take shape, Marketing starts even before creating a product?

I know the above statement would have ignited your brain muscles. And now that I have done that, let me clear all your doubts and also give you an insight into the ‘Science of Marketing.’

In my experience of better equipping the sales team to sell a product, I have come to realise that Marketing is a means to your end goal. And it is marketing that needs to be used in every aspect of product creation and delivery. Not just this, Marketing which includes understanding the market, customers and their needs forms the key to successful creation of a product.

"Nothing sticks in your head better than a story. Stories can express the most complicated ideas in the most digestible ways" - Sam Balter, Hubspot. 

There are a few Fundamentals of Marketing and it is important for start-up enthusiasts or even professionals to have a firm grip of these.

To start with, let’s list down some of these Fundamentals:

-      Marketing is a game of perception: It is important to capture the minds of your consumers. Once the consumer makes up his/her mind against your product, it is difficult to make a mark for yourself. The key here is the fact that while marketing is rooted in perception, it is product which is a reality. So never let marketing become bigger than your product.

-      Building a strong brand: It is better to be the first in your category, than try and be better than others in the category. If you plan to enter a competitive market, take a unique angle. Remember what ‘Virus’ told his students in the movie ‘3 Idiots’: ‘No one remembers the number 2 in any sphere.’ Yes! Unfortunately, it is true.

-      Messaging: Marketing means sending out the right message at the right time to the right person. Only Marketing can give you an immediate ROI. Good marketing means good communication and writing like you talk is the best way to communicate with your audience.  

-      Focus on existing consumers: In the bid to get newer clients, never forget your existing clients. You want them to come back to you and so it is important to keep communicating with them.

-      Understanding different components: Advertising, Copywriting and Sales are different components of Marketing.

-       Narrow your focus: The core of Marketing is a narrowed down focus. Like authors Al Ries and Jack Trout beautifully sum up in their book “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing”- You cannot stand for something if you chase after everything.

-      Global Economics & Marketing: If you plan to enter a market, ensure that you are making business decisions based on economics of that country.

Choose your medium wisely!

Having understood the Fundamentals of Marketing, brings us to the big debate of what should one choose: Traditional vs Digital Marketing. So which medium according to you is a better way to reach your audience?

The answer lies in the Fundamentals of Marketing. The medium doesn’t matter, what matters is your understanding of your customer and your approach to talk to them and make a space in their minds.

However, like with everything else, even these two mediums come with their pros and cons.

If you have a generic product, for instance, TV ads can help you reach millions of people at a low cost. However, if you want to reach the affluent English-speaking population, Digital medium is the platform for you. Also, digital platforms allow deep and personalised marketing. Direct response marketing is another feature of digital marketing, which helps marketeers and product owners in getting a response from prospective customers.

So, choose your medium based on your product. But, remember, more than the medium, it is the story that matters.

The art of reaching your customers

Did you know that reaching your prospective customers is an art that has its roots in Science? Your success and wealth depends on the Niche you choose. While, selecting the niche is half the battle won, the main task is interacting purposefully with your target group.

In the Marketing world, we use the CATT Funnel for converting prospective customers into your clients. Let’s deep dive into each of these.

-      C for Content: Creating useful content that attracts people from the chosen niche is the key. Content could be in any form: Blog, posts, videos, lead magnets, live webinar, emails etc.

-      A for Attention: Driving attention (traffic) to your content using SEO, Social Media, Paid Ads and Referrals.

-      T for Trust: It is important to build trust with your audience. This could be done using Trip Wires, Marketing Automation and Retargeting.

-      T for Transaction: Now that we have got the lead in the funnel, you can convert your lead into your customer using natural sales methods.

 

Want results? Try Integrated Marketing!

The beauty of digital marketing is the numerous ways the platform provides to reach your target customers. I am sure many of you would have come across terms like Email Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing, SEO, Paid Advertising etc. However, how many of you knew that for an integrated marketing plan, one needs to use each of these methods to reach the potential clients?

Yes! It’s true! You cannot rely on just one method of communication and discard the others. Using each of these in silos also wouldn’t give the desired results. A successful marketeer is that who knows what to use when and connect each of these methods for coming up with an Integrated Marketing plan. However, the key to a successful Integrated Marketing plan is “Good Content.”

Appealing content, tied seamlessly with all the wheels of Digital Marketing will give you the desired results. Just keep working on it!

 

Create a Personal Brand

How many times have you bought a product, only because your mom, or friend or colleague insisted you try it? My guess is almost every time. In my 11-year career, I have come to realise that ‘People want to hear from people and not brands.’

Haven’t we all seen a movie only because the reviews by friends, family, critics said it was a “must-watch”? The same goes for any brand. People buy a product when it comes from people they trust. And this brings me to the most important aspect of Marketing- ‘Creating a personal brand.’

"People do not buy goods and services, they buy relations, stories and magic."- Seth Godin 

Question now is, how do we create a brand for ourselves? I am going to list down some steps that form the Evolution of Personal brand:

-      Learn: A new skill through concepts, facts and practice.

-      Work: On the new found skill. Go from practice to implementation.

-      Blog: About what you have learnt and experienced through your work.

-      Consult- After having a personal brand, start consulting other businesses to help them grow.

-      Mentor- Teach other people.

-      Start Up- Start your own product or services.

 

Marketing is a Science. Those who learn and master this will surely succeed. One should not put marketing at the end of the funnel, but use it even before creating a product or service. Marketing starts with choosing the Niche for yourself. It is always better to be the best in your category than to try and be better than others in a similar category. The Mantra for a successful Marketeer lies in how well you can sell your story.

 

Want to be a successful marketeer? Join the DD Internship programme now! https://deepak.me/internapply

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