You may remember a line from the old baseball movie, “Field of Dreams:” “Build it and they will come.”
Well, some people in business might feel like that. “I can just create a website, or open a store, or tell people I have a service to sell” and somehow (they may think) revenue and happy customers will magically appear.
Or someone may feel that marketing is just another expense, perhaps like janitorial supplies, not recognizing the great leverage power centered in marketing, when it really is the propellant of business success.
Marketing Misconceptions
Individuals and companies can have many marketing misconceptions including:
- “My business is too small to spend money on marketing, so I’ll just go after customers one by one.”
- “I may buy an ad from time to time, but mostly my customers come right to me.”
- “I don’t need to do any customer research, because I already know how they think.”
- “I only need to reach out to find new customers. My current customers love me for life.”
- “I’m not going to spend money on new types of marketing until someone proves to me that they work.”
- “Social media? Hah! That’s just for young kids”
- “I simply cut expenses when sales go down, and that includes marketing.”
- “You have to have huge budgets for marketing, so I’ll have to wait.
- “My products (or services) are so good, they just sell themselves.”
- “I’ll only market occasionally, when I see a need to boost sales.”
Why Should I Invest in Marketing?
Your business needs marketing for three main reasons: it drives revenue, it enhances your position in the market and it increases the value of your business. On top of that though, there’s an endless list of how marketing benefits your business including:
- Capturing market share
- Investing in marketing is essential for businesses of all sizes because it:
- Creating awareness and provides information: If no one knows about your product or service and doesn’t understand its attributes and benefits, how will they choose to buy it? It influences people, turning wants into needs.
- Sustaining a company’s presence, generating on-going engagement with customers.
- Providing an equalizing force, especially with the impact of digital marketing, so that businesses of all sizes can compete on broader and more affordable ground with other businesses.
- Is growth-oriented, expanding a customer base and creating future opportunities.
- Building reputations, ensuring that your business is reputable, worthy of each customer’s trust.
- Overcoming slow periods, due to consistent marketing, thus fighting recessions and building the brand long-term.
Seek Professional Marketing Assistance
When you want to achieve success with professional marketing principles, approaches and applications, contact VisionPATH Marketing. With more than 15 years of experience working with small businesses, we have developed powerful marketing strategies and the tools to help you succeed.