Your Logo Here!
I don’t sell pens! It sounds like a crazy thing to point out – but when I tell people that I develop marketing strategies for businesses, they often exclaim “Oh – you sell pens with logos.” The first time I heard it, I thought it was just a random response. But I hear it so often, I now believe that people really equate marketing with logoed give-away items.
This actually makes sense when you think about marketing strategies such as branding. Fill a room full of people and ask them what a brand is. 90% (or more) of the people will talk about corporate logos. Hopefully the other 10% will understand that a brand is how people and the market perceive their company/product.
To best communicate how good marketing strategies can help grow a business, I go back to the 4 P’s of marketing: products, price, promotion and place.
- Products – What products and services does the company effectively sell? Do customers like their products and services? Are there ways to improve the products and services offered to add more value and be a step ahead of the competition? Are there ways to package and bundle offerings that are more appealing to different customer bases? Are they ready to develop new products and services?
- Price – Is the company is able to deliver value that a customer is willing to pay extra for? Pricing is one of the best levers to increase profitability and is often overlooked by companies. If you can deliver a premium product/service, you should be able to demand a premium price.
- Promotion – The key to promoting a business is to first establish corporate messaging and positioning. This forms the basis for the company’s website, advertising, branding, etc. This messaging and positioning needs to be consistent across all communications channels – both internally and externally.
- Who are we?
- What do we offer?
- Who do we offer it to?
- Why are we better than the competition?
- Place – What are the best channels to distribute the comapny’s products and services? While some products and services are easily sold over the web, others need to be sold and serviced by sales representatives, distributors and brick and mortar establishments.
A well implemented marketing strategy can help a business grow both revenues and profits. For companies that want to go the simple route, I’m thinking of distributing a line of pens.