Finally ...Marketing Explained
Mar 03, 2020I want to talk about the role that marketing plays in sales. I am always amazed, and it doesn't matter whether it's a small company or a large company, I'm always amazed at the confusion that exists out there about the role that marketing plays in sales. Many people think that they operate independently, that marketers do their thing and salespeople do their thing. And usually, when that happens in that the two of them don't talk and they don't communicate and they're not in sync with the messages, the results are either lackluster or pretty poor.
A lot of salespeople are confused about the role that marketing plays in their business, and a lot of marketers are confused about the role that sales can play in what they do. You see, if you're communicating, you're putting together a marketing message, the salespeople are the ones that know or they should know what the customers are looking for because they've got the ear of the customer. And marketers should be effectively communicating with different promotional techniques and strategies that they'll be using to help drive customers to the salesperson.
There is a lot of confusion, even with a lot of entrepreneurs that I work with, a lotta solopreneurs that I work with about the various components of marketing. And probably one of the best descriptions that I've ever seen of the different components of marketing was from a guy named Allan Dib, who is an author and a genius marketer. And go ahead and I'm gonna tell you to go ahead, Google Allan Dib, look at his marketing books. The stuff that he has is just absolutely fascinating. He is able to really distill some very complicated stuff into some very simple terms that anybody can understand.
But I'm gonna share with you the story of the different components of marketing that he shared in one of his books. So get ready, here it is. The circus is coming to town. They put a sign out that says that they're coming to town on, you know, this such and such day. That's called advertising.
The circus comes a few days early and before the show opens, they put a sign on the side of the elephant and they walk it through town. That's called promotion.
The elephant accidentally wanders into the mayor's yard, gets in the flower bed and tramples all the mayor's flowers. Everybody's, you know, up in arms about that. That's called publicity.
The mayor gives interviews and goes on television and talks to the newspaper and says, "It's okay, it's all in good fun. "I'm not mad, I can't wait to go to the circus." That's called public relations.
And then finally, the people go down to the circus and they go to the ticket box and the person in the ticket box explains all of the things that they're gonna get for the price of admission, all of the games, all of the shows, all of the fun, and they answer questions and they sell a ticket. That's sales.
But all of those things come before the sale is made. Now you don't have to do all of this, those things necessarily, but you have to do some combination of those things to help get the customer down to the point of sale so that you can sell them the product or the service that you have to offer. I hope that was a simple description of marketing and how marketing and sales go together.
I would encourage you, if you have separate marketing and sales departments, that you make sure that you're communicating, that you're in sync with what the people are looking for on the street, the marketers are communicating to the salespeople why they're doing the different types of promotion and when they're gonna come out. And if you're a solopreneur and you're doing all of this stuff yourself, just make sure you keep all of those things in mind.
Don't create a marketing campaign, you know, out there without any input from the street. I hope this has been helpful and I hope that it clears up some of the misconceptions about the importance of putting sales and marketing together.
Go ahead and subscribe to this channel. And every Tuesday, there will be more training for you. Until next Tuesday, go get 'em.
Rich
"Finishers Are Winners!"
Dr. Richard B. Greene, DBA, SSBB, CMPE
Speaker, Author, Peak Performance Business Coach
© Copyright 2020 Rich Greene
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? To publish this article in your ezine or website please include the following blurb:
Dr. Richard B. Greene is an International Speaker, Best-Selling Author, and Executive Business Coach who helps business executives get to the next level in business, their careers, and their personal lives. Through his IronCode (www.IronMindSuccess.com) acceleration program, he offers one-on-one coaching, group coaching, live seminars, and do-it-yourself development products to significantly increase levels of personal and business success. He’s been featured on radio shows and various news sites including KVCG Radio, The Miami-Herald, The Denver Post, Wall Street Select, Financial News Today, Fox, and ABC.
