Marketing is the process by which organizations make an offer for clients. That offer could be a product or a service. Moreover, marketing helps to build solid customer connections to catch value from them consequently. There is a 7 stage cycle of the marketing process wherein value is made for clients. Consequently, marketers catch value from clients in return. All the products are services we use today are a result of marketing. Let’s discuss the 7 steps of the marketing process briefly.
7 Steps of the Marketing Process:
1. Do Your Research:
The research will always help you see all perspectives of a topic. You need to do some digging before launching a product or service. There are two types of Research: Primary Research and Secondary Research. Primary research is the first-hand information that you collect yourself. For example, interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and all other things that you do to find new data. On the other hand, secondary research includes all information that is already available out there. For example, websites, articles, books, and much more.
Companies invest millions and billions in their Research Department. That is because good research leads to a profitable product.
2. Segment Your Customers:
The next step is to divide your customers into groups. So, the key point is to divide them based on similar characteristics, interests, and demographics. You can also look into their psychographics and socio-economic classes. This is an extremely important step. It helps in making the marketing plan effectively. When you will divide customers on basis of their traits, you will know how to create an offering for those traits. Only a few companies can meet the needs and wants of the entire market. Rarely any company can target all segments. You should split the customers into a segment that aligns best with your strengths and opportunities.
3. Target Market:
Define your target market. Choose which segment of customers will you be serving? You can target the segment which you think will be most beneficial for the product. Moreover, you must make sure that this target market will be willing to buy your product/service. Evaluate your target market as your ideal customer. Consequently, you will be shaping your product based on your ideal customer.
4. Positioning:
Evaluate your position in the market. You can conduct a SWOT analysis for this. Moreover, you need to position yourself uniquely in the minds of customers. Market Positioning refers to the ability to impact consumer insight in regards to a brand or product as compared to competitors. The target of market positioning is to set up the picture or character of a brand or product. So buyers see it with a particular goal in mind. There are various types of Positioning Strategies. A couple of models are defined by:
- Product Characteristics and Advantages: Associating your brand/ product with specific qualities or with certain useful value.
- The Product Value: Associating your brand/product with competitive pricing
- Product Quality: Associating your brand/product with superior grade
- Product Use and Application: Associating your brand/product with a particular use
- Competitors: Making buyers imagine that your brand/product is superior to that of your rivals
5. Strategize:
This is the step where you create your marketing mix. It includes defining your product, price, place, and promotion. Moreover, you start to create your product strategies. It includes decisions like, what is your basic offering? What will be the product useful for? At what price will you offer this to your target market? What will be the different variants/sizes of your product? Where will you sell it? Nationally or internationally? What will be the ways to promote it?
One of the quick and effective platforms to promote your product/service is social media. This online media is used by every individual these days. You can use social media to reach the end consumer directly. Once you put up an advertisement for your product on social media. A consumer is then well aware of its existence.
WorldNoor is a platform where one can promote its business and products. A brand can set up its page on WorldNoor. So the people using WorldNoor will start to follow the brand page and know about products. Remember to upload relevant and attractive content on social media. Now you can download WorldNoor for your Android and iPhone as well.
6. Implement:
Any strategy you make, make sure it is well implemented. Whenever you plan out something, then it should be implemented perfectly. Only then you will be able to get your desired results. You may assign appropriate employees for some tasks in this step. No matter it’s a product strategy or promoting strategy, its implementation must be in correct factors. Moreover, you can use automation tools and software for repetitive tasks so there is no error.
7. Measure:
How will you know that you have done well enough? Of course by measuring your growth/success. Compare your position now with that of when you started. Measure any improvement or depreciation in any task. This will help you know whether you are on the right track or not. There are many financial, management, and marketing metrics that you can use to measure your success.
Conclusion:
Marketing your business is not an easy task. You have to keep a lot of factors in mind while doing it. So make sure to research well before getting into a market. Have knowledge about the industry you are entering. Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning are the most essential parts of this journey. Remember to measure down the success in the end.
