Confusion with Marketing and Advertising
Small businesses will confuse marketing with advertising and the other way around. Marketing vs Advertising is something I am always explaining. There is a difference between the two even though both are very intertwined with each other and knowing the difference “and doing your market research can put your company on the path to substantial growth” (About.com). Here are the differences in simple terms:
Marketing vs Advertising
- Marketing is your strategic planning of your business. Planning involves the execution of a business. For example, need, (have to make sure there is a need for your product or service) location, price, demographics, distribution, promotion, and competition. The goal of marketing is to reach buyers (consumers) and well as sellers to make a profit, that simple. The most important part of market planning is knowing who your target audience so you can create an effective message that your target audience can understand and resonate with. A good start is to do what is known as an SWOTT analysis.
- Advertising is the promotion of your business. Getting your name and image out to your targeted demographics. Research is done as what is the best medium for your reach such as print, direct marketing, television, radio and/or digital advertising (Internet). Advertising is part of your marketing and yes, there is a cost, which most businesses’ really don’t like. Advertising does not have to be so expensive and that is why marketing is so important.
An easy distinction between Marketing vs Advertising is that marketing is your planning and advertising is the promotion of the plan. In my opinion, the most important part of any marketing is ‘need’. If you open your business because you have a neat idea then put out thousands and thousands of dollars with no return then it might be because there was no need of the service or product in the market where your business is planted. You can save a lot of money and headaches if not heartaches by doing the marketing first.
NOW WAIT … if you’re reading this you’re probably thinking, “Well, I’ve been business now for such-and-such years and I know my target audience and done some research and planning but not getting the results I want.” Or you’re reading this and have never done any type of market planning at all. Then to some, this is “blah, blah, blah.” But to those who are not in the “blah” category. Now what? There is no flat or blatant answer. As a marketer, I don’t know all the details of your business or what you have done already to try and make it work. But I do suggest to re-visit your beginnings and go back to the basic question of why you started your business in the first place because there lays the answer. What answer? To your passion. Sound corny but it is true. Because in that passion is the direction.
I’m a marketer and that is what I do is help you find that direction.
