What is Marketing? 5 Common Misconceptions
Marketing is a key aspect to the growth and success of any business. An effective marketing strategy helps to increase revenue, raise brand awareness and will help to establish a unique position within your market. Unfortunately there are many common misconceptions, born from a lack of understanding of modern marketing techniques and strategies.
We wanted to explore 5 of the most common misconceptions surrounding modern marketing, and help you to understand the benefits of promoting your business.
1. Marketing is just advertising
One of the most widespread misconceptions is that marketing is synonymous with advertising. While advertising does play a critical role in marketing, it’s only a fraction of the whole process. In fact, marketing involves a wide range of activities including market research, identifying target audiences, developing brand image and content creation.
2. I don’t need to market to my existing customers
Customer retention is just as important as acquiring new business, as loyal customers not only provide consistent revenue but also act as brand advocates and help to improve the reputation of your company. Engaging with existing customers through consistent communication and marketing effort can help to improve the long term sustainability of your brand.
3. Small companies don’t need marketing
Many companies believe that marketing efforts should be reserved for larger corporations with big budgets. In reality, marketing is even more important for smaller companies aiming to establish a position within a competitive market. An effective marketing strategy can help a smaller business to differentiate themselves, connect with their target audience and build a strong brand presence. With the use of digital marketing, there are many cost effective strategies such as, content marketing social media and marketing campaigns that can provide significant returns on investment for small and medium sized businesses.
4. You need to use every social media platform
Not all platforms are suitable, or relevant for every business. Focusing on platforms where your target audience is most active will help to concentrate your marketing efforts and improve their success. Research into your audience preferences and behavior is key for this strategy, and quality engagement on a few relevant platforms often outweighs quantity on all platforms.
5. traffic = success
While website traffic is undoubtedly important, quantity does not always equal quality! The true measure of success lies within the rate of conversions from traffic to actions such as sales, leads or sign ups. High traffic with low conversion rates is an indication that something may be wrong with your targeting, or user experience. Instead of focusing on traffic, prioritize your content, website and strategy to encourage more meaningful interactions.
Understanding these common misconceptions is the first step to implementing an effective marketing strategy for your business. To find out more about how we can help, get in touch!
