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There are several concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is ‘the range of activities involved in assuring that you are meeting the needs of your customers and that you are getting a valuable response in return.’ One major misconceptions of marketing is that it is only ‘advertising your product or service.’ Even though advertising is important, it is only one component in the process of marketing.

We can define the core meaning of marketing as ‘understanding’ your clients’ needs and ‘developing’ a plan that effectively addresses those needs. By understanding marketing in this way, a business owner who desires to see his business ‘grow’ can set the proper goals.

One of the most effective ways to grow or expand a business is to concentrate on ‘organic growth.’ For us to understand ‘organic growth’, we need to be aware of the fact that a business is a living organism. We can either let it tend to itself or we can discover what its needs are to help it grow. When determining what the business needs, we can determine what we need to do to make it thrive.

We should look at two basic components of marketing in order to get a better idea of the things that we need to create a successful business. The first component of marketing that we need to consider is ‘developing a marketing plan.’ The second component is the ‘ongoing promotion.’ One mistake that many business owners make is to create a product or service and immediately jump into an advertising campaign. When we define these two basic components, you’ll understand why this mistake can be a disappointing and costly one.

When we develop a ‘marketing plan’ or ‘marketing strategy’, we create a guide that is necessary for the well being of a business. The first consideration in creating a marketing plan is research and analysis. This is not as difficult as it may seem. It may take a little time but it will be well worth the effort.

To help us understand, we should look at the advice of King Solomon, the wealthiest man who ever lived. This will show us the effectiveness of marketing analysis. We can apply several of Solomon’s Keys to Success in our ongoing marketing efforts.

Proverbs 1:5 (Amplified Bible) “The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel [so that he may be able to steer his course rightly]” Wise counsel can be found in many forms. We should also remember, for those of us who think we understand better than others, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who listens to counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15 (Amplified Bible)

A well planned market analysis contains the following:

1.) Determining our ‘market’ or the groups of potential clients that exist,

2.) Decide which of these groups of customers fit our marketing preference (target markets),

3.) Determining the needs of our target market,

4.) Developing the best products or services that might meet the needs of our target market,

5.) Determining how our potential customers might use our products and services,

6.) Keep track of your competitors’ activities,

7.) Determining the pricing structure that we should use and

8.) Developing a plan for the distribution of our products and services to our target markets.

There are a number of researching your target market that can be used to discover information about markets, target markets and their needs, as well as the actions that your competitors are trying, etc. The Internet has given us a great instrument for this type of research. A little refined searching on the major search engines will reveal many sources of specific information. You must remember to target your searches. Get specific!

When you have successfully developed your marketing plan, look at your ‘ongoing promotions’, which may include advertising, press releases, public relations, sales materials and customer service to name only a few. These terms can become confusing: advertising, marketing, promotion, public relations and publicity. These terms are often used interchangeably. They refer to different — but similar tasks.

Let’s look at a list of quick definition of each term.

1.) Advertising — presenting a product (or service) to potential and current clients. Advertising needs to be focused on a particular product or service. We must understand that an advertising plan for one product will be different from that for another product. Advertising is usually done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, website banners, etc.

2.) Promotion - Promotion is keeping our product in the minds of our client (product recognition). Our ongoing efforts in advertising and public relations are often considered elements of promotions.

3.) Public Relations — ongoing activities to ensure the company has a strong and positive public image. This is often referred to as “PR.”

4.) Publicity — being mentioned in the media. This is always the opinion (good or bad) of someone else but can include news releases.

These are only a few terms that are good to learn. The health and well being of a business, your business, is truly determined by the amount of diligent study that you do and the application of the principles that you learn through study. To best know your product or service or customers or competitors, you must develop a sincere determination to be as diligent as possible.

Remember these principles in Solomon’s Proverbs to help you develop a growing and successful business.

Proverbs 10:4 (The Amplified Bible) “He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

Proverbs 12:24 (NLT) “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.”

Proverbs 13:4 (The Amplified Bible) “The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied.”

Proverbs 21:5 (NASB) “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.”

Memorize this last Proverb. It will help you to focus on the tasks at hand.

Last 5 posts by Bobby Keating

• Become Successful By Learning From King Solomon - May 27th, 2008

Tags: Affiliate Marketing