What is the Purpose of Marketing to Businesses?

What is the purpose of marketing? To sell more stuff, right? Wrong. Perhaps during the post World War II era this idea was true. When the American economy was leading the charge forward in consumerism, and the vacuum cleaner, television rat races that ensued in many households across the country led the day, you could work off the simple premise of, ‘sell more stuff’.  However, this is not true anymore. 

The market today is fractured, fragmented, and far more fickle than it has been in any other time in history.  Options are abundant, choices plentiful, and decisions often made in the nuance between competitors, products or services. If you move forward with the basic premise of, ‘sell more stuff,’ you are unlikely to find success.  In a market full of niche ideas, niche products, and niche services you truly have to work on two fronts: 1. Differentiate yourself. 2. Grow your base of true believers and super fans.

In a marketplace full of niches and customers/consumers who can choose to be fickle, how do you differentiate yourself?  Here at BartenMEDIA we believe you accomplish this through authenticity, candid engagement, and a hyper focus on ensuring your customers have the best experience possible with your offering. With an abundance of choices, customers can look endlessly for the best experience. Afterall, no one wants to spend their money and be disappointed. Information is accessible at everyone’s fingertips and the vetting process is now easier than it has ever been.  Make sure your information is out there, available and accurate. This is the age of digital marketing, but it is not the age of ‘sell more stuff’ digital marketing. It is the age of ‘who are you’ and ‘what do you stand for’ digital marketing. 

The purpose of marketing, specifically social media and social media marketing, is to show people who you are, who your teams are, and why you and your teams are in the grind everyday. Demonstrate your passion, show people you care about providing high quality, you want your customers to become repeat customers, and let these simple ideas lead your campaigns. The point of marketing is to build credit with your base. To allow you the opportunity to sell to them when the time comes.  It is important to design your marketing in a manner that allows you to charge a price which maximizes your margin.  

Remember if you price yourself low, you can never afford to market. Use your marketing as a tool against which you can measure a return on investment (ROI) and allow your marketing to set your price. Authenticity, engagement, and passion are drivers of successful social media campaigns.  While the paid ads and boosted posts have their place, our teams at BartenMEDIA like to use these as tools to raise awareness and invite new people to follow your firm on the journey of success and relationship building. 

Successful marketing is built on trust. Trust that you as a firm will respect people’s time and trust and that you will respect them as a customer and potential customer and keep their information safe & protected from unwanted, unintended uses. Likewise you are trusting your followers, fans, and customers to provide you with support, candid feedback, open dialogue, and referrals. This is how marketing works best.

Advertising and marketing are not one in the same. Marketing is building trust between your brand, your firm, you as an individual, and your consumer base. Marketing is done over time, post by post, video by video, engagement by engagement, email by email, and comment by comment. Build credit with your fans, followers, and customers. Build trust. Use advertising to build awareness, promote specific happenings, events, or extend invitations to potentially new followers. Don’t use boosted posts or paid ads to ‘sell,’ let your marketing do that. By adding value,  providing insights and useful information, by being consistent, and engaging with your audience you build a reputation as an authority. You gain respect. When the time comes and your customers need your product or service, they won’t hesitate to hire you. That is the purpose of marketing.