Many entrepreneurs tend to think only about the product and its production with quality and, when it comes to market launch, they end up being surprised by the low adhesion on the part of the target audience. One of the main reasons for this situation to occur is the negligence of a plane of marketing.

Does not mean that an entrepreneur who strongly bet on marketing, you will be guaranteed sales success. But yes, that the marketing it is one of the factors that considerably influence the direction of the business.

Marketing allows you to attract several customers, highlight the product in the market and assume a privileged position in it. In other words, it is necessary to have a detailed vision and knowledge about the market. A professional of marketing he knows everything about the market: how to position himself, how to win over the target audience, how to make the product desirable for the market, how to generate profit and how to deal with the competition effectively.

This concept can be quite comprehensive, including several terms and strategies, so it is essential that startups understand the concept, recognize its importance and finally apply it correctly.

What is marketing?

As mentioned, marketing it's a pretty broad concept. Generally, individuals associate marketing to the process of selling a product. However, this idea is incorrect. Marketing it's not just about selling, not just about advertising. There are other players to take into account.

In a general way, marketing is an area dedicated to generating value for products, services or the brand itself, and its purpose is to acquire and retain customers. In order to achieve the defined objectives and goals, strategies for attracting, converting and retaining the target audience are developed and implemented.

There is no concrete definition of this concept as it has been around for longer than most individuals are aware of. Since the first civilizations, techniques of marketing, even without people knowing this concept. For example, when marketers tried to convince other people to buy their products. However, in the past, the marketing it was done for one reason only: to sell and make a profit. Nowadays, this reason is one of the main ones but not the only one. For example, there are organizations that do not seek profit (such as UNICEF, Save The Children, Doctors Without Borders) but to make the causes gain recognition.

Marketing goals

The objectives of marketing they can be diverse and, consequently, targeted to achieve different results for companies. Thus, the main objectives are identified:

sell more

The most popular goal marketing, being used by the various companies for profit. In fact, the products or services hardly sell without the help of marketing. Therefore, it is the function of the marketing prepare a set of strategies to ensure that customer needs are addressed, thus increasing the chances of sales success.

The entrepreneur should be noted that revenues from increased sales to be significantly higher than the amount invested in marketing. However, if not, the strategies of marketing were poorly implemented or poorly defined and could result in losses for the company.

customer loyalty

The role of marketing it doesn't end in the sale. It is necessary to make customers become fans of the products and come back for more. According to the expression “to retain customers is much cheaper than attracting new consumers”. This is because it is easier to deal with a public about which the company already has some knowledge (registration data, purchase history, wish list, among others).

Thus, several strategies for marketing may be applied, such as loyalty programs, offer of complementary products, among others. Through these, the company will provide a more complete customer experience and improve their chances of becoming a frequent consumer.

Increase the visibility

Another major goal of marketing is to increase the visibility of the company and its products or services. Generally, this strategy is applied before sales and includes a set of practices such as market research, definition of personas, among others. Therefore, the important thing here is to make the company gain visibility with the right people, in the right channels and at the right time.

Managing a brand

associated with marketing They are branding. The latter is responsible for a person's preference to choose a particular brand, not only for its products or services but also for what it represents. For this to happen, strategies for marketing.

Build good relations

Good business starts with good relationships between the parties involved. That's why, marketing it also has a relationship aspect. By establishing ties with customers, partners, employees, suppliers, investors, among others, a company can strengthen its brand. Consequently, sales and loyalty increase.

Educate the market

In the case of more complex products, such as IT, technological or electronic products, customers feel the need to be properly informed before proceeding to purchase. Here, many companies apply strategies for marketing in order to educate the market about your products. For example, informative articles can serve as a reference for this type of audience. In this way, the company conveys trust, credibility and good reputation to potential customers.

Once seen what marketing, the entrepreneur needs to understand that this concept is constantly evolving. In other words, it follows changes in society's behavior, market and technology evolution. We are currently in the era of marketing digital, where the internet plays a vital role for business success.

product life-cycle management

Before the entrepreneur to venture into the existing techniques marketing, it is necessary to understand the product life cycle (CVP). This concept was introduced by Philip Kotler, and consists of the premise that nothing lasts forever. Therefore, it is necessary to know this cycle in detail to get the most out of applying strategies of marketing at the best opportunities.

Generally speaking, any product or service goes through 4 phases.

Introduction

The first phase of this cycle corresponds to the launch of the product on the market. Here, sales tend to be low while launch and marketing expenses are high, inhibiting profitability.

Growth

At this stage, the product is already on the market and there is a considerable increase in demand for it. Consequently, profits start to show as sales outweigh production expenses and marketing.

Maturity

Sales and profits stabilized. The product already has a reputation of its own and has already covered virtually all potential consumers. Thus, at this stage there is a lot of competition for visibility between the company and competitors, and profits may start to decline.

Decline

This phase usually came about due to changes in the market that reduce the relevance of the product in question. These can be the insertion of a new technology, change in consumer behavior, entry of a new competitor, among many.

As a result, profits start to decline further and further. The entrepreneur must then study the best way to turn the situation around, whether this is the renewal of the product, investing in other markets or withdrawing the product from the market.

The 4 Ps of Marketing

Also known as Mix Marketing, is one of the best known concepts in this area. It defines the 4 basic pillars of any strategy used in marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. In addition, it defends that the balance of these elements is the secret to a company's success, strengthening the brand before the defined target audience.

Product

The first P treated here refers to the product that the company has to offer its customers. This point is fundamental for the entrepreneur and the work team to understand and define what characteristics and attributes it provides. Thus, they should try to answer the following questions:

• What customer needs and desires should this product satisfy?
• What are the functions it must have to achieve them?
• How, when and where will the customer use it?
• What does the product look like? What product and packaging design do you want?
• What is the product name? What will your brand look like?
• What is the production quality level of this?
• How will it distinguish itself from other products on the market?

This phase is also the time to study the product's life cycle in order to be able to identify the best time to launch, and thus define the best future strategies.

Price

The price represents the amount that will be charged for the product that the company offers. This point is very important and will indicate the future of the company as it is through the profit generated that salaries can be paid and investments made. In addition, this pillar will greatly influence the way the consumer will see the brand and, likewise, its positioning in the market. Thus, the entrepreneur should seek to answer the following questions:

• What is the amount to be charged to the consumer for the product?
• How much is the consumer willing to pay for the product offered?
• What are the minimum and maximum limits on the price to be charged?
• What are the prices charged by the competition?
• Should different prices be created for different types of consumers?
• And will there be discounts? Promotions? What are your values ​​and conditions?

The P for Price should be reflected around profitability and prices adopted by competitors. However, it must also be analyzed how consumers will receive this price.

Square

This pillar represents the distribution of the product in the market and is responsible for how the customer arrives at the company and, subsequently, its products. The places where the product is sold determines how the consumer has access to it and also influences its purchase decision. Therefore, the entrepreneur and his team must reflect on the most effective way to reach the target audience.

The following questions must be answered:

• Where does the target audience look for the products?
• In the case of physical stores, what are the typical points of sale?
• In the case of online stores, which types?
• Which distribution channels are most advantageous for bringing the product to the customer?
• How does the company access these distribution channels?

Promotion

Promotion encompasses all communication actions in order to promote the company and its products. It is through this that there is a connection between the brand and consumers and thus arouses their interest in the product. This is where advertising, public relations, marketing and merchandising actions are defined and implemented. Therefore, the following questions must be answered:

• When and where can the company's marketing messages be effectively and effectively conveyed to the target audience?
• What are the best communication channels to present the product?
• How are competitors running their product promotions? What is its influence on the market and consumers?

marketing environments

To set a good strategy marketingIt is critical to understand that there are several factors that influence the success of a business. Everything that involves the company internally and externally affects directly or indirectly the marketing. Therefore, the company must carry out an analysis of the environment in order to identify its influence and thus develop more efficient strategies for marketing.

With this, the concepts of micro and macro environment arise. These represent the internal and external market forces that influence the business. It is up to the entrepreneur and the work team understand these forces and determine their level of influence in order to improve communication with the target audience and, consequently, obtain better results from marketing.

Microambiente

The microenvironment represents everything that influences the company internally, including the sector in which it operates. The analysis should start from within the company, identifying its strengths and weaknesses. Here, it involves the work team, a location, brand credibility, target audience, among others. In addition, the sector must be analyzed, involving suppliers, direct and indirect competitors, consumers, intermediaries, among others. These factors are under the control of the business.

macroenvironment

The macro environment encompasses all the external factors that influence the company. As they are external, these factors are not controllable by the company. This environment can have a huge impact on the business and therefore, it is up to the company to choose the best strategies and scenario prevention in order to be prepared to act when something less good happens. Within this environment, there are demographic, economic, political, legal, sociocultural and natural factors.

Finally, it is important for the entrepreneur to know that the macroenvironment directly influences the microenvironment. In other words, it can be decisive for the business to work well, internally and externally, and therefore, time and resources must be invested in its analysis.

[smartslider3 slider=8]