Resources for Young Entrepreneurs
The importance of marketing
Business leaders know that the ability to satisfy the changing demands of customers has become increasingly important in recent years. Nowhere is change more noticeable than in the marketplace.
Given a choice of suppliers, discerning customers pick the supplier who most completely meets their needs. These customers may then grow to rely on that supplier if they find their needs are being met consistently.
Thus, those companies best able to satisfy customer needs will become the most successful in their marketplace. And those needs are constantly changing. If the key to business successtoday is your firm’s ability to satisfy customers’ current needs, the key to continuing business success will be your ability to satisfy customers’ future needs. Anticipating future market needs and managing the necessary changes is as important as satisfying current markets. New technology, growing international trade, improved communications and increasingly sophisticated and demanding buyers (consumers as well as industrialists) have all increased the pressures on suppliers to make continuous improvements in their products and services. A world of continuous change means markets grow, mature and disappear much faster now. Companies must continually assess the value of the markets they are in, planning, if necessary, to enter new ones for growth or even survival.
The Importance of Marketing
Just opening a business is not enough, you need to let potential customers know about it, get them in, and have them buy your product or service. Marketing is all of this. Your specific approach to marketing will depend on your business, your finances, who you are trying to reach, and your goals.
Marketing is so important that you should develop a special Marketing Plan. This will help in evaluating where your business is currently, where you want it to go, and how to get there. The marketing plan should also spell out the specific strategies and costs involved. Your marketing plan can be integrated into your business plan as one comprehensive section. As with the business plan, it should be referred to regularly.
Successful marketing requires work and careful analysis. It is an opportunity to use your creativity. Additionally, you must be flexible and willing to try a new approach if the old one doesn’t work. One of the first tasks in developing a marketing plan is to do some market research. This will help in defining your target customer. Market research is also used to assess the competition and forecast industry trends.
Develop a marketing budget
This budget will determine what you can spend and in what categories. Smaller companies with little money often look for creative marketing strategies that avoid the mainstream media.
