Understanding the Purpose of Marketing

You're doing all the things your supposed to do to position your company in the marketplace.... e-mail marketing, direct response marketing, engaging in social media, publishing your newsletter and on it goes.

But, have you ever asked yourself what all these marketing initiatives or tactics are supposed to do for your company? Or better yet, what is the real purpose of your marketing?

Oh sure, to get customers, make more money and live happily ever after. Yes, we all know that. But, acquiring more customers is a process, and the process requires certain steps in order to engage with more of the people who will value the product or service that you sell and ultimately stay loyal to your business.

Ask ten business owners what is the purpose of their marketing and you will get ten different answers. How do I know? Because I always ask this question at every seminar or workshop I conduct.... always. And I always get ten different answers.

Why do I ask this question? Because the answer to this question gets at the root of the problem most business owners have when marketing their businesses. And that is the lack of understanding of what marketing should really be accomplishing for their business.

Here, in my opinion, are the three major objectives that any of your marketing initiatives should accomplish:

- Build awareness, credibility and trust with your preferred prospect or customer

- Facilitate the decision-making process of your preferred prospect or customer

- Lower the risk for your preferred prospect or customer to take the next step in the buying process

In order to get more of your preferred customer or client, keep that customer loyal to your business and referring you to other preferred prospects, your ability to effectively implement the three steps above will determine the effectiveness of your marketing and ultimately the loyalty of your new customers once they experience your process.

The process of building awareness, credibility and trust is one of the most important areas to help you improve your marketing efforts. This is accomplished by being 'out there', networking, writing articles that educate your preferred prospects, being active in social media circles, getting recommendations, testimonials and referrals, delivering what you promised, going above and beyond for your clients.

The process of facilitating the decision-making process of your preferred prospect is accomplished by providing valuable educational content so that your prospects have all the information they require to make a good decision when buying the service or product you sell.

Finally, you need to lower the risk for the prospect to take the next step in the decision-making or buying process. We are all risk-adverse to some degree. We have been burnt before and we want the ability to take baby steps before making the purchase. Your marketing should provide low-risk methods, such as a free trial, free sample, etc. for your prospects to take the next step.

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