How to create a Timeless product, that can stand Competition
In spite of being a commerce student myself, I always thought sales and marketing are the same thing. Then I came across Digital Deepak, who clarified some major concepts for me. This was a major learning curve for me. So today I want to share my knowledge with you.
“Sharing knowledge is the most fundamental act of friendship. Because it is a way you can give something without losing something.”
— Richard Stallman
It is my strong belief that a person must continuously keep learning; As Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Before you read on, I want you to ask yourself some questions:
· Do you have a product that you want you want to sell?
· Are you looking to upscale your Business?
· Do you want to know more about how to market your product?
· Do you want to learn more about Digital Marketing?
· Do you want to learn more about Branding?
If your answer is “Yes” to one or more of these Questions, then you have come to the right place.
In this blog we will go through
· Traditional Marketing VS Digital Marketing.
· Integrated Digital Marketing.
· Evolution of a Personal Brand
Before we start, I want to tell you that Marketing not what we think it is!!!
Most of us are confused as to what is marketing. So before getting into the fundamentals, I want to share what is not Marketing.
So, Let’s get going!!!
What is not Marketing?
ADVERTISING IS NOT MARKETING!
Advertising is only a small component of marketing. It is a paid form of communication that helps people discover the product or service.
However, marketing is a much wider discipline and advertising is just a branch of marketing. It would be incorrect to say that advertising and marketing are one and the same.
SALES IS NOT MARKETING!
Sales is when you exchange money for a good or service that you need.
However, marketing is the process that takes place before the final sale actually happens. Marketing is about product planning, packaging, pricing, distributing and making your product reach the people who really want it.
COPYWRITING IS ALSO NOT MARKETING!
Content is a more direct form of marketing that aims to educate the end user about the product features and usage. Again, content marketing is a component of marketing and not marketing.
Advertisement, Sales and Copywriting are not Marketing; They are just components of Marketing.
Let’s understand what Marketing Actually is.
The Fundamentals of Marketing
Like most people I used to think that Marketing begins with a product. But I was mildly shocked when I got to know that is not true.
You don’t need a product to start Marketing!!!
Yes!!! You read that right.
Well then, you’ll ask me, if we don’t need a product then what are we going to sell?
The thing is; Creating a product comes later.
Then what comes First?
Well, the first step to Marketing is understanding the customer and his needs so well that it leads to creating a product that fits. Marketing is about sending the right message to the right person at the right time!!!
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself. The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous” — Peter Drucker
We focus on the marketing so much that we forget that:
Marketing is a game of Perceptions; Product is rooted in reality. Never let Marketing become more important than the product itself. A great product sells itself.
This is the main reason why we don’t see commercials for a Lamborghini!!! The experience that a Lamborghini gives sells itself!!!
Now that we know that having an excellent product comes first,
Let’s get into how to choose your Product Niche.
What is your Product Niche?
Ask yourself these Questions:
- What is it that I’m passionate about?
- Where do my Talents Lie?
- What does the market need right now that aligns with my Passion and Talents?
Knowing your Product Niche is very important as it gives clarity on what you want to create. Because if you just create or sell a product just for the sake of it; Chances of you being motivated in the long run are very less.
That’s why I urge you to please take out time and understand your Product Niche, in order to create an excellent product.
The image given below is a visual representation of your product niche.
Now that you know what your product niche is you already know what product you want to sell. Don’t worry if you haven’t found your perfect product yet!!
As the saying goes “Good things take time.”
You just need to get started. The ideas will eventually flow.
“I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it’s not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that’s not why you do it. You do it because you have something that motivates you.” — Jeff Bezos
Having an excellent Product is not enough, you have to Market it effectively. Let’s see the Marketing Techniques we have.
Traditional Marketing Vs Digital Marketing
Many people believe that Digital Marketing is the new way of marketing; as many Indian youth now have access to smartphones with Internet. This is partly true.
Traditional Marketing still has value in the Indian Market as mostly everyone has Television sets and Radios at home.
Many people still read the Newspaper with their morning cup of Tea.
TV ads can reach millions of people. Traditional Marketing works wonders for generic brands like Colgate, Vim Bar etc.
But if you’re just starting out; I would suggest a combination of Traditional Marketing (Newspaper ads) and Digital Marketing (Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Google ads,)
Now that We have seen The Types of Marketing, I want to share with you a Marketing Funnel. It is called the CATT Funnel.
What is the CATT marketing Funnel?
According to the CATT marketing funnel.
W= n^CATT — Where,
W= Wealth
n = Niche
C = Content
A = Attention
T = Trust
T = Transaction
To create Wealth, you must first Know what your niche (n) is.
You must create relevant content © in the form of blogs, webinars, videos, etc. to make your product visible to your niche.
You must bring attention (A) to your content using SEO, paid ads, social media, etc.
You must build a relationship of trust (T) with your niche
When you do all of the above; that’s when the real transaction (T) will happen.
The CATT marketing funnel will tell you what are the different stages that you need to go through as a marketer. However, the Integrated Digital Marketing Framework will tell you how you must implement the different marketing tools and techniques.
What is Integrated Digital Marketing?
As the name suggests Integrated Digital Marketing means that we integrate the different components of marketing and not use them in isolation.
For instance, writing a blog alone is not enough; Your blog has to be optimised for SEO so that it gets noticed.
Just writing quality content is not good enough; you have to run ads and make this content available to your niche.
Making a product is not enough; You have to find the correct customers for the product and retarget them through emails.
Hence, it is important we use the different tools and techniques in an integrated manner and not in isolation.
Now that we know all the basics of Marketing. Let’s get into another aspect of Marketing — Branding. Here I want to discuss all about Personal Branding and Why its important for your business.
Personal Branding
Personal branding is the key to successful career. The best known will always beat the best.
Let me explain this to you with the help of an example:
We all Know Elon Musk. He is a brand in himself. People will always follow Elon Musk.
Do you remember his 2-word viral tweet “Use Signal,” referring to the encrypted messaging service Signal?
His tweet led to Signal Advance Inc. shares to surge more than sixfold. That was enough to push Signal Advance’s rally more than 5,100% in three trading days giving it a market valuation of $390 million.
That is the real power of a personal brand.
Don’t you think with the Influence he holds, people will follow Elon Musk if he opens a New company?
Now that We have discussed about why personal branding is important. Let’s dive into the evolution of a Personal Brand.
The Evolution of a Personal Brand
As the saying goes, “First you learn and then you earn.”
That’s exactly how a personal brand evolves. First you learn a new skill. Then you master that skill. You work on it and gain experience. Then you share your experience with the world (Blog). You Provide one on one coaching (Consult.) You expand your scope and start teaching others (Mentor). Then you build a company.
To Sum it Up
All the things Discussed above are simple yet powerful techniques to up your Marketing Game. The Product and the Quality of the product ultimately matters. If you’re passionate about something and you have the talent you will always create a quality product. Your passion coupled with the right advertising tools could help you reach heights you never dreamed of.