What’s the difference between sales and marketing? That’s a question someone once asked me. Sales is when a customer buys from you and happens after a customer knows what it is that you sell. The marketing comes first. But how do you persuade people to reach that stage when money changes hands?
You need to tell people about how your business helps them. That’s why marketing is important – without it, a business may not get any sales. Here are some of the vital roles that marketing plays in the birth and survival of a business.
Tell the world what it is that you do.
Hundreds of businesses are born everyday, and most of us don’t know about them. Through social media posts, newsletters, videos, advertisements, and other multi-media, these businesses build their brand by telling us their story.
They tell us what it is that they do, what market they serve, and how they can solve our problems and make our lives better. Without this content marketing, we wouldn’t know how a certain business can help us with our needs.
Competition is fierce.
In an ideal world, your business would be the only one of its kind, but it most likely isn’t. How do you stand out from the crowd? Why should a prospect pick you? Your marketing message needs to clearly say what makes you different.
Is your product the most advanced in your niche? Does your service offer perks that your competitor does not? If the answer to both questions is No, you can still get the edge with something as simple as personalized service that makes your customer feel special. When you have customer loyalty, you can be competitive.
Marketing to a global economy.
Technology has made it possible to market businesses to a global economy. You are no longer restricted to your own city or country. Many prospects use a business’s website to decide how legitimate a business is and whether they want to do business with them. Your website can also make your business seem larger (with more staff) than it is just by how you present your business online.
Social media and your online presence have the important role of reaching out to your prospects and building a relationship with them. A prospect in Europe may subscribe to newsletters and YouTube videos for your business based in the USA. They’ll read your customer reviews and how you respond to those reviews. Over time, they develop an interest in your products and buy from you. Developing that trust is important when there are so many possibilities for scams or problems when you’re working with a business far from your home.
Marketing for consultative sales.
A transactional sale is simple and common. You’re thirsty so you buy a bottle of water from the nearest grocery store. When you buy something you need from a business that one time and possibly never buy from them again, you’ve made a transactional purchase.
Most businesses want more than a one-time purchase from a customer, however. Imagine hundreds of people buying from your business once and never seeing them again. Not a great return on investment after all the money you put into your marketing.
Instead, it’s important to focus your marketing on building relationships and establishing customer loyalty. You want your customers to buy from you time and time again. With consultative sales, your goal is to establish a long-term relationship with your customer. For example, offering discounts for repeat customers and providing customer loyalty programs.
Summary
Marketing has an important role in the survival of your business. It builds customer loyalty, raises awareness of what you do to a wider audience, and helps you stand out from your competition. Successful marketing helps you close more sales. Marketing is a vital component that helps a business gain and maintain customers.
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