Foundations of Marketing

By Pat Smith

Implementing the foundations of marketing is essential to achieve desired goals. These established strategies help companies develop a strong foothold in the marketplace through acquiring a positive reputation and brand recognition.

Without integrating the foundations of marketing, owners will find it exceedingly difficult to achieve the level of success they desire. The first step for laying the foundation is developing a business and marketing plan.

Business plans need to encompass short- and long-term goals and include descriptions of the key players and their role. A startup small business would want to forecast their administrative needs for up to 5 years. While they might be able to operate with a regional manager, in the next few years they might require district and national managers as well.

The anticipated growth cycles of every business is essential in predicting the type of marketing endeavors required. However, before deciding upon marketing requirements it is necessary to engage in market research to assess the needs of the target market.

Many small business owners fail to engage in market research to determine if a need for their product or service actually exists. Spending time and money developing a widget nobody wants is a waste of valuable resources. There are dozens of tools to help companies engage in market research.

In today's marketplace, few companies can survive without engaging in online marketing. Internet marketing practices are entirely different than print or TV marketing. While the Internet offers companies opportunity to easily and affordably reach the masses, business owners ought to become educated about the different types of online marketing strategies.

Some of the more popular Internet marketing techniques include: company websites and blogs, digital newsletters, podcasting, online videos, local listings, mobile marketing, and social media marketing.

Most companies do not integrate every online marketing strategy from the start. Instead, they develop a strategic marketing management system so they can easily track campaign results and interconnect a variety of ad campaigns.

Developing solid customer relations is vital for every business. To obtain repeat business requires meeting or exceeding expectations of customers. Happy clients will gladly advertise a business via word-of-mouth and referrals.

Social media marketing provides unlimited opportunities for businesses to interact with established and future customers. Although social marketing is a powerful venue for reaching the masses, it is a time-consuming strategy. It is essential to hire adequate staffing to manage daily interactions.

Many social media outlets provide consumers the option to publish testimonials and product reviews. One of the most prevalent sources of customer reviews is local listing directories.

While these types of business services can enhance brand recognition, they can also be detrimental to the company's reputation. Therefore, it's vital to develop reputation management systems within the marketing plan.

As new technology emerges the foundations of marketing evolve. To stay abreast of changing trends, many business owners find it advantageous to participate in a marketing training course or hire an online marketing agency such as Online Marketing DNA.

At OMDNA, we incorporate the foundations of marketing with cutting-edge technology to ensure our clients achieve their goals. In addition to customized marketing packages, we also offer private business coaching. Combined these services can help companies dominate their niche in the marketplace. We invite you to take a good look at our offerings and contact us today to secure your spot.

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Published on July 12, 2011

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