Click here for a unique definition of marketing mix known as ADSPORT, developed by Irish marketing consultants

Would you like to find an easy way to explain marketing to people who haven’t heard about 4P’s? How to define marketing mix to students so that they not only understand it, but also are able to use it in future for their businesses?

Well, here’s my little story on how we did it.

Once I was giving a class on marketing - it was aimed at people thinking about starting their own businesses – I was saying our usual stuff about leads, sales and relationships with clients. Basically, that if you want to market your products, go to your potential customers first. No complicated science, just ask them, let them try the product and ask them for feedback. This will tell you an awfully lot about how to promote yourself. If you are interested in reading more about ‘what we preach‘ in marketing, read this article.

Students were giving examples of their own clients, saying about the vision for their businesses, they were taking notes – not of what I said, but they were scribbling their own thoughts that had been provoked by my questions.

The class was very interactive and people wrote parts of their future marketing plans on the spot.

Anyway, after my ‘lecture’ there was another one scheduled and it was given by a guy who seemed to be more teacher-like – skilled in how to educate people and how to explain marketing…

And he carried on defining marketing mix as 4 P’s – product, price, place and promotion. Giving a short description of every one of them and the students were vigorously recording every single word of the brilliant definitions.

The atmosphere became quite dull and harsh. With a sigh of release when the bell came, people left the class with books of marketing scribbled by their own hands.

I was just wondering – what did they get from the second part, what was in it? What is the use of knowing a definition of promotion by heart when they don’t have a clue how to apply it for their own business? People who were there don’t really need to understand marketing mix as a set of rigid definitions. What they are really looking for, is the know-how, so that they know what to do next.

This is the way we teach marketing when we run sales and marketing workshops for companies and business owners in Ireland. We give them a road map they can follow – a step-by-step action plan they can follow, starting the next day.

Click here for a unique definition of marketing mix known as ADSPORT, developed by Irish marketing consultants

Click here for a free marketing planning consultation

Your marketing plan is a document that clearly states why you are in business, what you have to offer your customers, how to retain existing customers, how to price your products competitively and profitably and provides a plan of action to follow to retain and grow your existing customer base.

Bearing in mind that you are a small business, the strategies outlined here are practical and take into account the importance of obtaining a measurable return on effort and money expended on any marketing activities.

Today the marketplace is very competitive and changes constantly; that is why you need to update your marketing plan regularly, at least once a year.

Technorati Tags: marketing plan, marketing planning, marketing strategy, marketing tactics, marketing, marketing ireland, marketing success

You work with a marketing planning consultant, get your marketing plan done, pay a significant amount of money – and then let it get lost among other papers on your desk. Sounds familiar?

Well, the value of marketing planning really is in the ability to take action and execute the plan. This is why we, before we start working with our clients, suggest that they are ready to implement the marketing plan we will deliver after the consultancy sessions are over.

They can commit themselves to this execution by signing a short declaration – something like this:

I, ………………………………… commit myself to reading through this plan so that I can give a reasonable boost to my business. I understand that it’s not about owning this plan, but about getting real results. If I want more clients for my business, I must go and take the individual actions.

Technorati Tags: marketing plan, marketing planning, marketing strategy

In order to run
smoothly a wheel needs to be balanced. In order to have a stream of qualified
leads coming in to the business, you need to ensure that your marketing wheel
is smooth and continually turning

Extensive
research has shown that for marketing to be effective you need to have at least
7 distinct strands to any campaign over a period of time.

3R™ has created a small
business marketing strategy called ADSPORT™. In this article we have outlined the brief details
of ADSPORT, and given some examples of 
each of the seven strands as way of explanation.

Technorati Tags: marketing plan, marketing planning, marketing strategy, marketing tactics, marketing, marketing ireland, marketing success

Have you ever heard of the two peaks of motivation? Wants and pains are something we are moving towards and away from – so how do professional marketing companies use this knowledge to sell more for their clients?

Let’s explore the area of your clients’ needs, wants and pains.

Technorati Tags: marketing companies, marketing, marketing strategy, marketing planning, needs, wants, pains

How could you make the best use of your marketing when in the economic recession? Is it possible to be smart and do it effectively, without spending lots of money? This marketing article will give you a idea of what is the best way to interact with your clients who will actually do most of your creative marketing for you!

Just remember, in difficult times, you need to build relationships and trust. And here come our 3R’s – Relationships Reap Results in Marketing.

Technorati Tags: role of marketing, relationships, customers, clients, challenging times, recession, economic recession, marketing strategy, marketing planning

Do you know how much you spent on marketing last year? Was it time and money well spent? Are you 100% sure that if you apply the same methodology for the following year, your business with soar?

They say it’s the biggest madness to believe that, while doing the same thing again and again, the results will be better. That’s why you should try different things all the time until you get it really right and you achieve growth and success you dream about.

So how should you go about your marketing budget for the next year and what could be a good idea to try out?

Do you want to see a simple formula which would tell you how much you should spend on marketing? Every business owner will understand this and, what is more, it will also give you some tips on how to use marketing budget wisely, so that it generates leads that turn into sales. Effectively. Read the full article here.