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Ever wondered how that catchy Super Bowl ad impacts your buying decisions?

Marketing is all around us. From the ads you see while browsing online to the catchy commercials during the Super Bowl, marketing is a powerful force shaping our decisions daily. In 2024, for example, over 123 million people watched the Super Bowl, a prime event where companies create memorable ads to capture attention and boost sales 

(Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/216526/super-bowl-us-tv-viewership/ )

During the high-profile event, companies create memorable commercials to capture customers’ attention. (The video below is commercials created in 2023)

So, What is Marketing?

Marketing refers to the process of developing, promoting, and distributing products to satisfy customers’’ needs and wants. Promotion, like ads, is the most visible, but it’s important to understand marketing is the combination of the three elements: development, promotion, and distribution.

Understanding the “target market” 

Before diving deep into what marketing is, it’s important to discuss the target market. 

A market usually means all potential customers who have the ability and willingness to buy. A target market, however, refers to a specific group of customers who a company tries to reach. Marketing is a tool used to connect with this group.  

For example:

Tesla focuses on environmental problems through their products. Their target markets are educated professionals and families who are concerned with those problems and have enough income to afford these cars. Tesla’s marketing efforts are put on this group, not the general public.

(Source:https://www.start.io/blog/tesla-target-market-analysis-and-segmentation/)

Toyota, on the other hand, targets a wider range of customers, young adults to retirees worldwide. They achieve this by offering many types of car models to appeal to those different targets.

(Source:https://www.start.io/blog/toyota-target-market-analysis-toyota-customer-base-market-segmentation-competitors/)

Below are 7 elements that companies adopt.

1. Financing

“Financing fundamentally drives business.” 

• Financing is about securing the funds needed to run a business. If it’s lacking, marketing efforts can be limited, affecting the company’s ability to promote its products effectively.  According to a BDC Survey, small businesses often need around $30,000, or 2-5% of their budget, for marketing efforts.

(Source: What is an average marketing budget for a small business? | BDC.ca)

• Moreover, financing monetizes whether new market plans make sense from its point of view.. It checks the balance of spent money and the effect caused by marketing strategies. 

2. Marketing Information Management

• Understanding customers is key to  successful marketing strategy. This involves collecting and analyzing data, such as customer reviews, sales metrics, past performance data. 
• Insights gained from this data help tailor marketing efforts to better meet customer needs and increase profitability.

3. Product Service Management

• This function focuses on improving products to enhance the customer experience.
• It involves maintaining product quality, developing new features, and creating support systems that ensure customer satisfaction.
• Better products and services help companies to standout in a competitive market.. What customer feel in the experience of using the products is the most important to achieve the satisfaction of needs and wants.

4. Distribution

• Distribution involves deciding how and where to sell products.
• It’s about delivering products from the manufacturer to the customer, whether through physical stores or online channels. It can be by trucks, ships or planes, which depends on where customers live
• The goal is to make the product available in the most efficient way, enhancing the overall customer experience and ensuring the products are reachable in that way.

5. Pricing

• Pricing is about determining the right price for a product to maximize profits. This involves understanding the balance between supply and demand. 
• For instance, if a company launches a high-end camping tent at $1,000 but there are cheaper alternatives, the demand may not meet the expectations, forcing the company to adjust the price. On the other hand, if there is a big camping buzz and people are eager to buy outdoor goods, the demand will increase and companies may have to sell the product at a more expensive price to keep the balance.

 6. Promotion

• Promotion is used to inform, persuade, and remind customers about a product. Its goal is encouraging customers to purchase products.
• It includes various methods like sales promotions, personal selling, public relations, and advertising, each serving a different purpose. Those are called Promotion Mix.
• For example, McDonald’ uses discounts and coupons to drive online sales through its app. It’s a sales promotion.
• Another example, personal selling is often used for expensive products like jewelry to explain detailed information and persuade customers because the decision could be huge in customers’ lives.

 7. Selling

• Selling is the exchange of goods or services for money. It involves identifying potential customers, creating demand, and facilitating purchases. Since the pandemic, the trend toward online shopping has accelerated, and companies unable to adapt may lose market share.

By mastering these core functions, companies can better understand their market, connect with their target audience, and ultimately drive sales. 

Stay tuned for my next post, where we discover how we can analyze products or services, using SWOT analysis!