Strategies of Marketing in Business.

Marketing is one essential part of any business and it determines how a business will grow and thrive successfully. Without the right method of marketing, one may be reducing the growth of any business anywhere.

Marketing is an activity and the processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large. Source

Every business must have a marketer or a group of marketers who are involved in the creation and designing of logos, posters, flyers, etc, communicating with other people in convincing them of a particular product, are in the business of delivering goods and services across to buyers, and then receive favourable or unfavourable feedbacks from them.

Marketing includes activities such as advertising, selling, and delivering goods/services, and products to other businesses, clients or buyers. Marketing is a crucial part of a company which helps to promote the buying and selling of services.

Functions of marketing include;

• Marketing promotes products or services.
• It helps to sell goods to consumers or buyers.
• It helps to finance and distribute products and services.
• It helps in product management, etc.

The sole responsibility of a marketer is to get or convince potential customers to have an interest in their products and services, and this is a gradual process that needs to be followed patiently in order to win such a client over. Also, he or she must build and maintain relationships with them.

There are five P's involved in marketing and these are called "Marketing Mix."

• Product
• Price
• Promotion
• Place
• People.

These are structures to keep marketers focus on the right thing instead of perambulating around without a definite purpose and to guide them on strategies to make use of.

Product: This is what a marketer is offering to customers. Products can come in physical or online methods and the way you market a product to your customers determines the success of such products. The product comprises branding, appearance, warranty, quality and how you package your product.

Place: Every product must reach the right people, in the right place, and at the right time. Marketers are responsible for a product to reach customers and the right channel to use to get them there. Distributing in the right channel, logistics to be used, and levels of services must be considered in marketing.

Price: This is another important aspect of the marketing mix which leads to revenues and is not like the others which incur costs. The pricing of goods affects how consumers view a product and it can impact the reputation of your brand.

Promotion: How you promote a product matters in a business as you are gathering information about the product to your client, customers or consumers. Digital marketing is one way to promote your goods and services, and this includes social media, advertisement, applying SEO strategies etc.

People: There is no business or brand that runs on its own. People are the major factor or component that determines how an organisation or company functions, starting from the employees to the customers and to partners. People should be considered and their needs and wants should be the major focus so they can know what they want or need. Customer satisfaction and reviews should be taken into focus as businesses tend to break down when customers show unfavourable concern for products and services.

There are other marketing P's and they include Process, Physical Evidence, Partners, Payment, Packaging and Perception.

The importance of these marketing mixes is to help marketers see the areas their businesses and products needs help. Let's take for instance, when a marketer does not receive good reviews about his or her products, he or she may find helpful tips or solutions and see if they are actually targeting the right place or channel.

Ethics in Marketing

For every business, there are always ethics that need to be adhered to, and failure to comply could lead to unexpected loss of products and services. Ethics in marketing are all about honesty, transparency, respect for customers when selling products, and above all, not trying to lure or trick people into buying your products, especially knowing they are not okay to be sold out. Marketing ethics implies that a marketer is doing the right thing when he or she is making decisions or taking actions in marketing.

Abiding by ethical principles would improve marketing strategy.

Marketing ethics include:
Being transparent: One thing that makes a customer happy and willing to buy your products is when you are transparent and open to them by including information about the safety of a product and how to effectively use it so that they do not waste money.

Being able to respond in a meaningful way to the concerns of customers: It is important for a company to seek the rights of customers and look into any complaint made without wasting time. The safety concern about a product from a customer should be the company's priority.

Avoid exaggeration: Too much exaggeration leaves a loophole and makes it seem like a false claim. This means you are assuring a customer a level of quality that you cannot deliver.

Do not stereotype: There are some marketers who would try to portray women as sex objects in order to sell a product and this is harmful to any business. Stereotyping in order to make sales is unethical and should be avoided.

Avoid unverified claims: It is safer to be honest in giving out information on a product than promising to give the best without concrete scientific evidence to justify your claim. For example, a marketer who sells a cream and makes a mouth that it improves skin without evidence that it actually is effective. I once had a marketer who came to advertise her product and claims it works for rashes and pimples. I looked at her face and couldn't close my mouth because it was obvious she was not honest as she only wanted to sell her products without proof it actually works for her.

In conclusion, marketing involves looking through consumers' behaviour toward any product or service as most could be caused by psychological, social and cultural factors and this is what a business must notice and look forward to in order to create campaigns for marketing.

Thanks for your time on my blog.