A Marketing Primer


© Bert Markgraf

Marketing has a bad rep. That's because few people know what it is and it is seldom done well. It is fundamentally different from selling and it is in fact a well-defined discipline based on concepts that make good sense.

First, the market. No, we're not talking about your customers here. A market, just like a real fruit and vegetable market, is not only customers but a whole structure including other suppliers, the people who run the market, the regulations, the look, smell and feel of the place - everything about it.

As far as you're concerned, the most important part of this market is - no, not the customers yet - it's your stall. It has to fit in yet call attention to itself. It has to respect the rules but call attention to the value of its products. If your marketing strategy fits the market well, you'll be an asset to that market, bring in extra customers, and serve your customers well. You and everyone in the market will be happy. Bad marketing strategy is to offer goods and pricing that don't fit the market.

Once you know everything about your own business, you're ready to develop specific strategy. Are your apples bigger because you have the best soil in the area? Then a very strong marketing strategy is to sell the bigger apples at the same price as the others. You will sell all your apples, provide extra value to customers, bring in extra customers and generally benefit the market. But to start with, you have to be able to identify where in your business you can provide extra value.

Canadian Marketing Consultants provide a useful overview of marketing. It doesn't tell you how to do things but at least tells you what needs to be done. And, initially, the focus is on your own business.

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

1.   Jun 4, 2006 3:20 PM
Cute point about the farmers' market. I meet people all the time who are wondering how to become a consultant and they haven't even defined a market. I t ...

-- posted by Andrea_Coutu





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