The Most Important Ingredient in Marketing
Often, people think marketing is all about the eye-catching shine and sly language: about trying to conceal the truth and only showing your best foot, no matter how wobbly the other one might be. While that might describe some marketing, it absolutely does not describe good marketing. In fact, the most important ingredient in marketing is honesty.
First and foremost, be honest with yourself. Ask:
- What is the goal of this marketing? How will I know if it is successful?
- Do I have a plan for both wild success and complete failure?
- How will this help me get customers? Are those customers the ones I’m targeting?
- Does this marketing serve potential customers? What is it offering them?
- If I didn’t work for my company, what would I think about this mailing?
While the questions may seem obvious or silly at first glance, you would be surprised how often some can get caught up in their marketing without thinking externally, in terms of who their customers are and what they really want. If you don’t think from the customers’ perspective, your marketing will fail – and ultimately, the business is likely to fail as well.
Profit is not the point of a good, long-term business, it is a byproduct. The actual goal of a business is to create a customer – one who has a real problem or need – and offer a solution that will solve that problem or meet that need. Getting that right will lead to profits. Lose sight of that customer-centric attitude, even in something that seems as company-focused as your marketing, and real returns dry up, both dollars and cents and satisfied customers.
Prime Advantage Marketing understands the importance of honesty and customer-oriented thinking in every part of a marketing campaign. Contact us today and we can get started putting these principles to work for your company!