Have you ever wondered how products sell out on the first day of their launch? Or how sometimes there is so much hype about a product that you feel forced to buy it? Well, in simple terms, the answer is marketing. Marketing your services or products the right way can lead to profitable returns for your company. However, there are certain aspects that you need to consider. This articles details on the marketing management process and how you can make the most of it.
What is Marketing Management?
Marketing management refers to the process of presenting your product or service to the customers. It covers everything from planning, formulation, execution, and promotion of your goods. Basically, the process of planning your marketing strategies, from production to launch.
In today’s world, marketing is becoming a crucial aspect of a brand’s success. As the industry grows, there is a lot of competition for everything. Almost every product has hundreds of alternatives. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly challenging to retain customers. That is, your services should be perfect for ensuring that your customers do not switch to another product.
Also read: Making a move to a SaaS Usage-Based Model
Marketing is a way of making your product known to the customer world. The more you present your goods, the more is its reach. Hence, higher the chances of attracting potential buyers. While quality matters, marketing is the first step into the real world. If you compellingly present your service, chances are people will buy it, regardless of its quality. That comes later!
Why is Marketing Management Important?
As stated earlier, the industry is becoming increasingly competitive. Marketing is a way to showcase your product to the public. Presenting your product in the right way can help you stay on top of your market competitors. There are several reasons why marketing management is essential. To discuss a few:
Introducing your product
The first step of marketing is to introduce your product to the people. In marketing management, you begin the process by identifying your target audience and analyzing the demand. It helps you understand and gauge the extent of demand so you can launch your product accordingly. Moreover, it also enables you to learn more about your customer. Hence allowing you to shape your brand into something that would fit the demand more accurately.
Increase sales
Marketing management also allows you to increase sales. Through planning successful marketing strategies, you can reach out to your customers. Therefore, you get the chance to retain your old customers while also gaining new ones. Moreover, with strategic targeting, you can reduce costs and increase sales at the same time.
Building your reputation
It will be amateur to believe that your business will always run smoothly. There will be several PR schemes or blunders that will attract media attention. However, marketing management can become a crucial factor to ensure that your company’s reputation stays the same. You can identify opportunities and invest only in those that guarantee high returns through a detailed marketing management process. Further, it also helps you steer clear of any scandal.
Marketing Management Process
Getting to the important question, what exactly is the marketing management process? While we have realized that marketing campaigns are highly effective, it is also essential to know what to do to succeed.
Marketing management is an extensive process. There are different factors and phases that you need to go through to devise the perfect plan for the perfect launch. While it might seem easy, executing the plan may take a lot of time.
The marketing management process can be divided into 6 phases. Each phase requires equal resources and equal time to execute perfectly. You cannot quantify which one would be the easiest stage. To delve into them:
Market Research
The first step in the marketing management process is market research. This phase entails analyzing your customer data and researching your potential clients to understand the need for your product. Research can be conducted via interviews, surveys, analyzing economic patterns or simply studying the market behavior.
Through this data, you can draw patterns and trends that can help you understand your target audience better. That is, you can identify the pain points, the good and the bad, to see how your service will fit in the system. Moreover, it also helps you identify the areas where your business is more likely to succeed.
Marketing Objectives
The next step is setting marketing objectives. You cannot continue a process without having an ultimate goal in mind. Therefore, the marketing management process includes setting achievable goals and setting certain benchmarks to analyze your success and growth.
Your marketing objectives should be realistic and based on your research. You should set your goals after analyzing demand patterns, social and environmental factors, and the economic situation of an area.
Goals don’t necessarily mean the amount of revenue you generate. Instead, they should cover your budgeting expectations, sales goals, and brand development, etc. Setting these objectives will help you follow the road map to achieve these thresholds efficiently.
Marketing Strategy
After analyzing the customers and setting your objectives, it is time to develop an efficient and effective marketing strategy. This phase mainly caters to decisions to present your products to the customers and make them stand out of their market alternatives. Usually, a marketing strategy consists of 4 stages:
Segmentation
This is where you divide your customers into groups to better cater to their needs. This helps you identify and group customers who would respond to your marketing programs in a particular way.
Targeting
Targeting is further dividing your segments into groups and specifically creating a product for their needs.
Positioning
Positioning is where your product will land in the market hierarchy. In terms of quality or price, your product gains a particular position in the target market’s minds.
Marketing mix
Lastly, the marketing mix utilizes different elements, such as price, place of distribution, your product, and promotion strategies to satisfy your customers and achieve your marketing goals.
Marketing Plan
Now, it is time to devise a marketing plan. It usually covers how you introduce your product to the customers and how much your company grows in a given time period. For a marketing plan, you have to perform an internal and external analysis of your venture. Then, you will have to weigh the pros and cons of marketing strategies to select the best one.
The marketing plan also includes a forecast of your financials. Your expected costs and earnings are projected and documented to ensure your business is ready for any risks.
Implementation
The next step in your marketing management process is implementing your strategies. It’s putting everything we have discussed so far into action and executing them in a manner that yields the maximum results. The implementation phase includes the launch of your products, sales, and shipping, etc.
Monitoring everything
Lastly, once your customers are live and accessible, it’s time to monitor your campaigns and track their progress. Looking at your day-to-day growth, sales, revenue, and customers can help you understand how everything is performing. Further, it also enables you to identify bottlenecks and fix them accordingly.
Conclusion
The marketing management process is key in successfully launching your products. Following all the phases can allow you to launch efficiently and effectively. Therefore, if you are a business getting ready to step into the market, going through the above marketing management process can help you kick start your journey.