Marketing costs money, selling makes money. Marketing is not selling, don’t confuse the two. Which do you do most?

Many small business owners I talk to admit they spend a considerable amount of time on marketing themselves or their business.  But without a sale, there is no business.

Let’s examine the 5 key differences and what is needed to complete the business cycle.

I have nothing against marketing or those who spend their lives marketing.  Some of my best friends are marketers.  So what is the difference and where should we apply our energy?

There are many disciplines under the banner of marketing.  Here are some:

  - Market research, to determine your ideal prospects, what they want and where they can be found.

  - PR & Brand marketing, building familiarity and trust between you and your prospects.

  - Marketing communications involving graphic representation and the written word amongst other things.

  - Social media and online marketing, taking advantage of the power of the internet to reach audiences.

  - Direct marketing, which puts promotional messages in the hands or in front of your chosen market.

None of these will produce revenue.  Arguably, the last two can produce business but only if appropriate sales techniques are included.

Difference #1

Marketing is therefore determining what customers want and attracting them to you or your business.  This is good, without this you would be casting your fishing line into unknown waters.  Slim pickings unless you are extremely lucky.

Selling is persuading or enabling those prospects that make themselves known to you to buy a product or service by helping them get what they want. It is an art that takes time and effort to learn how to do it effortlessly.

Difference #2

Marketing can achieve the “know, like and trust” necessary to sell your products or services.

But marketing is essentially passive in nature.  It may cause a stirring of emotions, but it is the sale that evokes the action.  So in a good marketing piece there has to be a strong call to action, this is the sale.

The final action necessary from the prospect is to part with money.  This is called selling.

If the call to action is weak, it is likely you will have a lot more work to do, face to face or through some other direct communications or business development.

Difference #3

Brand building is what creates long term value in a business.  Coca-cola, BMW and Apple all spend millions on building their brands and it pays off.  A huge proportion of their capital value is in their brand.  But this doesn’t pay the rent in the early years.

Making one sale will pay more bills than being known in the high-street…today.  But if you want to make more sales in the future, make sure the person who buys today knows who they bought from and remembers your name (favourably).

Difference # 4

The internet is a wonderful opportunity to reach far and wide for people willing and able to buy what we sell.  Internet marketing is obviously big business and a fabulous skill to have.  Social media is very much the current trend for online marketing.  But what happens next?

Online marketing is designed to draw people in.  In to what?  A page that will move the reader to take action.  This is typically and commonly known as a ‘sales’ page (or sales letter).

Without marketing, selling would be a whole lot tougher and more hit and miss than it already is.  Without marketing, we might not even have people to talk to.  But without selling we simply do not have a business.

Difference # 5

Those of you who know me and my work, will know my definition.  “Marketing is putting it up on the shelf, selling is helping someone take it home.”  I suppose sales and marketing go together like a horse and cart.  You need to sell the wares on your cart, but you can reach more people if you have a horse to pull you around.  But the horse on its own, with no wares is just a fun ride.

And for those of you who think from this article that I have a down on marketing, a quote. "Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you're doing, but nobody else does."  Stuart H. Britt

Comments

[kirri]

A very timely and provocative article for me at the moment. Really enjoyed the Horse and cart imagery - funny but true!