All the way back in 2017 , Forbes entered into the discussion on whether marketing was a dying science. Some even argued that marketing was already dead, as it was irrelevant and unnecessary!
Yet here we are. Five years into the future and marketing is still going strong. Let’s explore why:
The Fundamentals Of Marketing
Marketing is a science. The science of understanding your customer’s needs. So as long as there are customers and as long as they have some needs, marketing is here to stay.
The reason, why marketing is science is that it starts (or rather “should start”) before the product is even conceived or produced. This science is applied to messages which need to be the right ones, sent to the right people, and all of this at the right time.
As mentioned, these messages start prior to product inception, continue and culminate in sales and then still linger in order to reach repeated sales. This cycle generates trust. Trust is the main building block for successful sales. Hence trust is also the main aim of marketing. As trust builds in the clients so the need for additional marketing activities is reduced. In the successful fruition of marketing, as Peter Drucker points out: “the product sells itself”.
By practicing professional marketing companies amass this mass trust. They grow their brands into verbs. Just like Google, Xerox, and Zoom.
Digital vs. Traditional Marketing
Although the idea of the death of marketing is basically incorrect, there is a grain of truth in it. Marketing is very much alive. However certain marketing tools and tactics are already falling out of favor in certain sectors. As was the case with telephony, then stores, then banks – marketing too evolved from analog to digital. However, still there is a place under the sun for both digital marketing and traditional marketing. Here are but a few figures from India, which suggest just that:
- TV commercials have a reach of 800 million people just in India
- Much of the remaining population may be reached via radio – some 65% of the Indian population
- Newspapers reach 465 million people in India
- Digital marketing can only reach about 100 million affluent and English-speaking people of the above
Traditional marketing should not be ruled out. While hip and trendy digital marketing does not provide the best target cover.
Although traditional marketing channels provide a wide target cover, they lack some features where digital marketing is strong. They do not provide an opportunity for personalized marketing. They fall behind in natural sales and render deep marketing impossible.
The key takeaway is that when engaging in marketing you should use the appropriate mix of digital and/or traditional marketing tools. The product and the target customers will help in the decision of the best approach.
CATT Funnel
Following the determination of the target market niche, CATT will drive future cash flow and profits. Here is what each letter stands for:
- C stands for content. Content will attract targets to your domain. These are blog posts, vlogs, webinars, tutorials, and the like.
- A is for “attention”. Capture the attention of your audience using Social media marketing, Email marketing, SEO, referrals, and paid commercials. Navigate this attention along your funnel.
- T stands for Trust. If the above have been executed at par, they should lead to building trust in your targets.
- The second T is for Transaction. This is the culmination of the marketing effort.
The CATT marketing funnel will make your marketing efforts successful and wealth-generating.
Integrated Digital Marketing
Some marketers use only one or two tools of marketing. Some emphasize on content marketing. Others focus on digital marketing, Facebook marketing, SEO or any other single part of the marketing mix. The truth is that in order to be effective marketing needs to be integrated.
All tools of both digital and traditional marketing need to work in concert in order to drive sales and conversions successfully.
Personal Branding: The MassTrust Blueprint
Even if you are great, if you remain unknown you will be still nobody. Building your personal brand will help your business endeavors. Elon Musk has a greater following than Tesla.
Although true, that you cannot sell the personal brand (Elon cannot change his name), a strong personal brand can lead to strong influencer marketing for new start-ups and spin-offs.
Here is the blueprint of the evolution of personal branding:
- Learn – this is the first step and the foundation of the personal brand
- Work – implement what you have learned and refine your knowledge through experience
- Blog – write disseminate your knowledge gradually becoming the authority on your subject
- Consult – teach your skills to others
- Mentor – take your understanding to a wholly new level
- Start-up – run your own business
This is the MassTrust blueprint of personal brand building.
Also see: Top 10 facts about Elon Musk and Space X’s Starship rocket
Why Invest Time And Energy In Marketing?
Learning marketing is a worthwhile endeavor. It will remain relevant for a long time. The reason is that marketing is rooted in human psychology, economics, and the market. In times where AI threatens many a trade, marketing is standing firmly. AI marketing will never learn to interact and communicate with customers in such a way as humans do.
But it is not only about time and energy. Marketing is also a great financial investment. Marketing is also the main activity of a company which will immediately generate a Return On Investment (ROI). This may not happen with production, HR, accounting, etc. Hence each dollar invested in marketing will quickly provide returns.
What Is Direct Response Marketing?
Some claim that measuring the results of marketing is a futile activity. Others use vague classifications as “boosting brand awareness”. The latter being virtually impossible to measure. Direct Response Marketing has a remedy for that.
Direct Response is a marketing technique that triggers a specific action from the target audience. Such responses may be downloads, clicks, calls, orders, following links, etc. Such responses help marketers measure the results of their marketing activity. They are easily measurable.
So, paraphrasing Mark Twain: “the rumor of the death of marketing are strongly exaggerated. Marketing is here to stay. It is evolving, developing, and using new tools. But it will always remain key to understanding markets, customers, and … of course – driving sales and profits.
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