GNA Marketing Group

Many companies use the word "marketing" when they actually mean "advertising" and end up investing in an endless cycle of non-targeted efforts that end up costing them time, money and most importantly their optimum customer.

The difference between marketing and advertising is very distinct: Marketing is the ability to profile and target your customer based on the benefits of your product and/or service and how it will make their life better (personally or professionally). Advertising is the medium for which the marketing message is distributed (ex: television, radio, newspaper, internet, website, etc).

Companies typically make the mistake of investing in "advertising" first and "marketing" second, mainly for the reason that the perception is that "advertising" is easier and reaches more people so how can they miss hitting their customer.

The reality is that if you invest in "marketing" first you will have identified who, what and where your target customer is so that you can effectively communicate the benefit of your product or service based on the matching criteria of the customers profile, thereby eliminating guesswork and random acts of let's see who responds.

Marketing is not a numbers game - it is a science of human purchasing behavior. Whether your company has a brand new idea or has been in existence for over 20 years you must develop an effective marketing profile and strategy from the beginning and modify as the customer climate changes and competition evolves. Assuming that things will stay the same is a myth - more than ever marketing has become an essential component of a successful product and/or service launch or re-launch.

Investing in a target marketing strategy is the second most important step of a business plan. It is the blueprint your company will use to expand your offering and carry the consistent message to the advertising media. Without marketing there is no advertising. Marketing is the hard part and takes the ability to step outside of your business operation and look at what you are saying from the customer perspective. If you can not immediately recognize the benefit to what you are selling and why purchase it from you over the competition you will continue to be frustrated, unfocused and make poor decisions as to potential business growth and expansion - because you did not take the time to connect your offering with the customer for whom will see the benefit.