By Jordan Cohen, Marketing at Neuberger Berman
What do the finance, tech and fashion industries all have in common? They all have marketing divisions. Whether you have a personal brand, small business, or work for a big company one thing is certain, you will need marketing. What is marketing, and how is it different from branding and advertising? The key difference is that marketing involves the strategy of bringing across your message, or product, to the market. Understanding your market is the essence of successful marketing. This is where targeting comes into play, as you must narrow down your market to reach the right people that would be interested in buying what you are selling. If you are not targeting your product/message correctly it will cost you lots of wasted money and time as not everyone is going to be your customer, spending money on ads to the wrong audience will not bring your business any fruitful returns.
So then, how can you approach marketing as a female entrepreneur? First step is knowing what you are selling inside and out, whether it be selling yourself for a specific role, or selling your product. The second step is to know exactly who you are selling this to. This is the basic essence of market research and leads to efficient targeting. The final step is connecting the first two steps with one another to see how you bring what you are selling, to the person you are selling it to. Here comes different methods and mediums that you can play with. The key point here is to think about where the person you are trying to sell to lives. Is this person spending 8 hours a day on their phone? If so, what apps are they using? Are they mainly on social media platforms? Then that may be the best place to showcase your offerings, whatever they may be. If you have done the first step and second step correctly and targeted the exact audience that needs your solution, you have a product market fit and should see a return from this customer/consumer. To get this right takes a lot of practice, research, and an understanding of people.
A great method to perfect this craft, and perhaps the most well-known and studied concept in marketing, is the 4P’s. Product, Price, Place and Promotion. It is a more robust approach to the three steps highlighted above and can give you a deeper understanding of how to optimize your marketing strategy and implementation.
Product
Understanding your product, as mentioned above, is knowing all aspects of your product including the entire product lifecycle.
Price
Understanding the pricing options of your offering and where it sits in relation to competitors. What the product has to offer the market that is unique, is the product a luxury good? Should it be discounted? Does the price match the target audience? Asking yourself these questions can also help you understand your target market and paint the picture of who this person is.
Place
Where should people find this product? Is it a digital only brand, does it need to live in a brick-and-mortar store, or if it’s not a physical product, where should people be able to access it?
Promotion
This section includes all relative mediums to relay your message to your audience. It includes advertising, PR, social strategy, etc. Understanding the person your customer is can assist you in finding the best way to bring forth your promotions. [1]
Keeping these concepts in mind can help you perfect your marketing strategy. This method can be used regardless of what you are selling and can be widely customized. That is partially why marketing is found in almost every industry, it is something that can be adapted and is vital in growing your business by giving it the right exposure.
[1] Investopedia, 2023