We bring you the ultimate guide to marketing management that will help you give a deeper understanding of the whole concept.
What is Marketing Management?
If we were to be technical, we could say that it is a discipline which focuses on how to apply different techniques and methods within a company that will drive the business forward.
If you were looking for a more down-to-earth explanation, we could say that marketing management teaches you how to use the resources of your company to define a business plan and increase your earnings.
Marketing management promotes how your company functions and helps you analyze your competition and customers.
The structure of marketing management
Marketing management utilizes economic and competitive strategies to analyze the market in which your business operates.
When analyzing competitors, it is essential to build a profile of each competitor on the market. That includes knowing what their strong and weak spots are.
The best way to analyze competitors is to use a SWOT analysis.
Stages of SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis has four distinctive analytical stages:
- Strength
- Weakness
- Opportunity
- Threat
These four factors determine the strength of your competition on the market.
By using SWOT analysis, you will be able to tell if your competitor has an advantage or disadvantage over you.
You will also discover all the opportunities that your competitors may use to gain an advantage, and use them to your benefit instead.
Finally, discovering all the threats that could jeopardize your business is the crucial factor here.
Marketing strategies
Marketing management is a broad field, and it consists of many marketing strategies.
Whether you wish to sell a product, create content to promote an event or acquire a substantial amount of customers, you should familiarize yourself with the types of strategies at your disposal.
1. Define your customer
Before anything else, you should define your target population. Knowing who the buyer is will make selling much easier.
That mostly depends on the type of business you are running. For example, if your company rents space for parties, your targeted audience will mostly consist of the younger population.
However, if you are a wedding planner, you should target young to middle-aged people. Without this step, it is not possible to run and promote a successful business.
2. Examine the behaviour of a potential buyer
Every business needs a test subject. Only by analyzing how a subject behaves under certain conditions are we able to understand the way they think.
If you apply the same principle to your business, you have higher chances of success. One of the best marketing practices for a small business is the hypothetical process of buying.
Once you understand how your targeted audience behaves, you will be able to pick the best marketing strategy.
3. Choosing a marketing strategy
Once you understand the demographics of your buyers, you can choose a marketing strategy that best suits your needs. Two of the main types are:
a. B2B – Business to Business
Choosing a B2B strategy means that your company services both individuals and other companies.
An example would be General Electric. While you can go and buy a product you need, they also make parts for other companies in the business.
b. B2C – Business to Customer
If you choose this strategy, it means that you are concentrating only on consumer-related products.
Other types of marketing strategies
Here is where marketing management gets exciting. With so many strategies to choose from, it might seem that you can go in any direction.
However, based on the demographics of your clients, only specific marketing strategies may work.
1. Paid advertising strategy
Paid advertising is one of the most popular marketing strategies. It means paying money to advertise yourself.
Whether it is printing flyers or internet marketing like Pay per Click, this type gives some of the best results. However, it costs more than other types, so be sure you have enough money for this ride.
2. Cause strategy
Using a cause to promote your work is known as a cause-related marketing strategy. It links the product or service that you provide to a global or social cause.
3. Relations marketing strategy
Building relationships is essential for our lives, both in our private life and when running a business.
The relations strategy focuses on building customer networks, enhancing customer relations, and improving their loyalty. That secures clients for a long period of time.
4. Stealth marketing strategy
Have you ever watched a TV show where the guests would drink a bottle of water or juice, but the label was blurred so you can’t see which brand they drink?
If the TV producers decided to show it, it would mean they are using stealth or undercover marketing. It is a way of promoting a product without customers realizing it.
An example would be the movie Cast Away, with Tom Hanks. He is a man on a stranded island, but there is a scene where he receives a FedEx delivery. What a clever way to show that FedEx delivers in all situations.
5. Word of mouth strategy
One of the most useful and most affordable marketing strategies is the word of mouth. There is nothing as useful as a recommendation from a friend.
If you value someone’s opinion and they recommend a product, chances are you will try it. With that in mind, always think about leaving a good impression on your clients.
The goal is to get your customers to spread the word about the quality of the service they received.
6. Internet marketing strategy
Internet marketing is one of the most used strategies today, mostly because it is available to everyone. You can easily promote your content in another country or continent, without spending a lot of money.
Online marketing is one of the most common approaches since it is available to everyone around the globe
Marketing management in our day-to-day lives
As you can see, marketing management is everywhere around you. Wherever you go, someone is using marketing to promote their product and run their business.
Depending on the clientele you target, some strategies will work, some won’t. Bottom line, carefully plan your business plan, and choose the best approach to get to your customers!
