What is marketing: The Best Guide [2024]

Marketing is the system of researching a market, offering value, and satisfying the customer with a profit objective.

Marketing is responsible for studying the behavior of markets and the needs of consumers. Analyzes the commercial management of companies with the purpose of attracting, capturing, retaining, and building loyalty among end customers through the satisfaction of their desires and resolution of their problems.

In this marketing guide we are going to detail what marketing is, the types and strategies there are, several examples, the difference between advertising and marketing, the characteristics of a good marketer, what profiles are the most in demand today, and how to develop a marketing plan. marketing and you have several learning resources at your disposal.

What is marketing?

Today, every company needs to include marketing in its overall plan to grow. Marketing involves various strategies to achieve goals, and many companies use these techniques without realizing it. Essentially, marketing is about the exchange between different parties for mutual benefit.

While some people may think of marketing simply as selling or advertising, it’s actually a broader concept. Marketing includes product distribution, packaging design, and creating landing pages, among other things.

In essence, the umbrella of marketing covers a wide range of strategies that assist a company, brand, or individual in reaching their objectives. Other possible definitions for marketing include:

• “Marketing involves a global system of commercial activities that include planning, pricing, promoting, and distributing products or services to meet the needs of customers.”
• “Marketing is a collection of activities aimed at satisfying consumers through products or services, ensuring a business benefit.”
• “Marketing is the internal process within companies that plans and fulfills the demand for commercially-oriented products and services. This involves creating, promoting, and physically or digitally distributing these goods or services.”
• “Essentially, marketing is about offering the right product or service at the right time to meet the potential consumer’s needs, adapting to demand, and setting a fair market price.”

One intriguing aspect of marketing is its ability to prompt exchanges. It revolves around the concept of “I provide you with something in exchange for something, addressing your needs and helping solve your problem,” often involving an economic benefit. What conditions must be met for this exchange to take place?

• In any exchange, there are at least two parties involved, though more may participate in the process.
• Added value is crucial in the marketing process, as consumers seek to fulfill needs or desires, expecting something extra in return.
• Mutual compromise is essential; the company may adjust the price, and the customer may adapt to market demand.
• Modern marketing goes beyond two-way communication; it requires two-way channels. Today, customers are at the core of marketing strategies, necessitating the expression of their ideas and opinions, with prompt responses.

In today’s marketing, the focus is on understanding and meeting the needs of consumers. It’s not just about reaching them but about listening and adapting to what they want.

Think of marketing not as a set of techniques but as a way of working that influences every part of a company. Marketing and sales are like two sides of the same coin—they need to work closely together. Without good marketing, you might not make many sales, and without sales, it’s hard to know what consumers really want.

The key to great marketing isn’t just selling products; it’s understanding the people buying them and giving them what they need at the right time.

Types of Marketing Strategies

Here are various strategies, marketing types, and concepts that can assist in shaping your overall strategy for your brand, product, or service:

Marketing Plan:

A marketing plan is a comprehensive document outlining the strategies and tactics a company or brand will implement to achieve its goals. It is essential for guiding marketing efforts, and ensuring alignment with overall objectives. Without a well-thought-out marketing plan, reaching company goals becomes challenging.

Digital Marketing or Online Marketing:

Digital marketing focuses on developing strategies exclusively in the digital environment. It leverages online channels such as websites, social media, and email to connect with the target audience, making it a crucial discipline in today’s business landscape.

Direct Marketing:
Direct marketing is a campaign targeting a specific audience through direct and two-way communication. Its goal is to prompt a specific and measurable result, engaging with the audience directly.

Email Marketing:
Email marketing is a profitable and effective technique involving sending targeted emails to the audience. Proper segmentation is key to success in this strategy.

Viral Marketing:
Viral marketing aims to make content go viral, spreading rapidly among audiences. It mimics a virus, replicating from one person to another without control, creating widespread exposure.

Mobile Marketing:
Mobile marketing encompasses campaigns exclusively focused on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Given the prevalence of mobile usage, this strategy is vital for reaching a broad audience.

Performance Marketing:
Performance marketing, also known as results marketing, emphasizes achieving measurable results. It is a methodology applied by marketing agencies to ensure that efforts directly contribute to desired outcomes.

Inbound Marketing:
Inbound marketing involves creating valuable content to attract qualified traffic aligned with a specific sector. The goal is to attract potential clients and nurture them towards making a purchase.

Marketing Tools for Instagram:
These are free marketing tools designed to enhance Instagram strategies, leveraging the platform’s exponential growth. These tools help improve engagement and performance on the popular social network.

Marketing Examples

So that you can better understand what marketing is, here are a few examples:

GoPro: the brand trusts the content generated by its users

Many athletes, adventurers, and travelers love using GoPro cameras because these cameras can capture incredible moments that are hard to record otherwise. You can then easily share these awesome videos on social media.

The secret to GoPro’s success in marketing is that they encourage users to share content that’s not only amazing but also easy to recognize. This approach builds a community of fans who naturally spread the word about GoPro by sharing their own exciting experiences with the camera.

Coca-Cola and the Red Cross: solidarity and brand responsibility

Supporting charitable causes is something every company should consider, providing goodness to society in a selfless manner. However, it’s crucial to approach this with care and have the marketing team support the process. Charitable efforts can significantly impact a brand’s image, and it’s essential that this impact is positive.

Take Coca-Cola, for instance. They backed the Argentine Red Cross in the fight against COVID-19, allocating funds for health safety items and equipment. Their campaign, named “Argentina Needs Us,” successfully distributed over 230,000 biosafety items to over 30,000 healthcare professionals nationwide. This not only aids a noble cause but also contributes positively to the brand’s reputation.

Twitch: success thanks to focusing on a niche

Twitch stands out as one of the most bustling social networks globally, currently ranking as the fourth busiest website on the Internet.

The secret to its marketing strategy is quite straightforward: a laser focus on a specific market niche—video game players. Instead of aiming for a broad audience, Twitch deliberately targets a specific segment of society and nurtures strong relationships within that community. This targeted approach has played a key role in Twitch’s success.

Marketing and advertising: similarities and differences

Marketing and advertising are frequently used terms that often cause confusion. Are they essentially the same thing, or do they have distinct similarities and differences? What tools and strategies do each involve?

It’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the contributions marketing and advertising can make to the success of your company. In order to help you comprehend this, we’ll provide clarification. This will enable you to determine the best strategy for your business growth or identify the areas you should focus on for professional development.

In the previous section, various definitions of marketing were presented, but in general, marketing refers to the planning and execution of activities with a commercial purpose directed towards a buyer or seller.

What is the publicity?

Advertising involves promoting a company’s product or service to its intended audience, whether it’s individual consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B). The primary method for advertising is through various media channels. These can range from traditional avenues like print and TV to modern approaches like digital and outdoor advertising. Some specific channels commonly used for advertising include:

• Television
• Radio
• Cinema
• Internet
• Print media: newspapers or magazines
• Flyers
• Billboards
• Digital Signage

The ultimate goal is to convince consumers to make a purchase. Advertising aims to provide essential information to assist in decision-making. It is known for its creative techniques and the ability to persuade through captivating messages.

Differences and relationship between marketing and advertising

Marketing is about planning ways to sell stuff, while advertising is putting those plans into action. Advertising is like telling people about what a company sells. So, advertising is just one part of the whole marketing process, which is like the big picture of selling things.

When companies run ads, they want to grab the attention of people who might buy their stuff. To do this, they think about who might buy it and how they decide to make a purchase. With all the information available online, it’s now easier to create ads that really speak to the specific needs of the people who want to buy something.

The 4 Ps of marketing

The 4 Ps of marketing are a basic formula to figure out and focus on the key parts of your marketing plan, as described by EJ McCarthy. Some people even mention the 8Ps of marketing, which expand on these fundamental elements.

Product or Service (Product):

This is the core of any marketing plan because it’s about meeting the desires of the target audience. Companies need to offer something that fulfills customer needs and motivations. Nowadays, it’s more effective to define products or services based on what customers need and the benefits they bring, rather than just their features.

Point of Sale or Distribution (Place):

Where you sell your product matters. It could be an online store (e-commerce or marketplace) or physical stores in different locations. The goal is to make your product easily accessible to potential customers and provide a positive brand experience during the buying process.

Price (Price):

Setting the right price is a crucial decision in your marketing strategy. Consider factors like the margin you want, the target market’s purchasing power, your company’s economic goals, competition pricing, and market trends. The price can influence how your product is perceived, from signaling quality to positioning in the market.

Promotion (Promotion):

Promotion involves all marketing and communication actions to spread the word about your product or service. This is how you boost sales by highlighting the features and benefits. It includes advertising, public relations, and other promotional activities.

5 Useful Marketing Tips

Contribute:
Make sure everything you do in marketing is helpful and gives valuable information to the people you’re trying to reach.

Help:
Focus on assisting customers rather than just selling to them. Understand their needs and be there to help them overcome challenges.

Anticipate:
Try to predict what customers will need in the future. If you can figure it out early, you’ll be in a better position.

Adapt:
Pay attention to who your customers are, how they get information, and what interests them. Adjust your approach to fit their preferences.

Automate:
Use technology to make your work faster, save time, cut costs, and make things better for your customers.

It’s time to move towards more thoughtful and inclusive marketing.

History and origin of marketing

Sure! Marketing has changed a lot over time. In the past, companies used to mainly reach out to people with their ads without knowing if those people were interested. This was called outbound marketing.

But now, with the internet and new ways of communicating, things are different. In today’s marketing, called inbound marketing, companies and customers can talk directly to each other. It’s like having a conversation face-to-face. This shift means marketing is more about listening to customers and interacting with them.

HubSpot has put together a history of marketing that shows how things have changed over the years.

1450-1900: printed advertising appears

1450: Gutenberg invents the printing press, revolutionizing the world of books and enabling mass copies.

1730: The magazine emerges as a new form of communication.

1741: The first American magazine is published in Philadelphia.

1839: Posters become so popular that they are banned from being displayed on London properties due to their overwhelming presence.

1920-1949: new media emerge

• 1922: Radio advertising kicks off.
• 1933: Over half of the U.S. population (55.2%) owns a radio.
• 1941: Television advertising begins with the first ad for Bulova watches, reaching 4,000 homes with TVs.
• 1946: More than 50% of U.S. homes now have a telephone.

1950-1972: marketing is born and grows

• 1954: Income from television advertising surpasses, for the first time, revenue generated from radio and magazine advertisements.
• Telemarketing: During this time, telemarketing becomes a potent method for directly reaching buyers.
• 1972: Print media experiences a decline, marking the first instance of exhaustion in the outbound marketing formula.

1973-1994: the digital age flourishes

• 1973: Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher, makes the first call through a mobile phone.
• 1981: IBM launches its first personal computer.
• 1984: Apple introduces the new Macintosh.
• 1990-1994: Significant advances in 2G technology occur, laying the groundwork for the future explosion of mobile television.
• 1994: The first case of commercial spam occurs through electronic commerce.

1995-2012: era of search engines and social networks

• 1995: Yahoo! and Altavista search engines are born.
• 1995-1997: The concept of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) emerges.
• 1998: Google and MSN launch new search engines.
• 1998: Blogging becomes a thing, and by mid-2006, there are already 50 million blogs worldwide.
• 2003-2012: The era of inbound marketing begins.
• 2003-2004: LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook, three major social networks, are launched.
• 2006: Twitter emerges.
• 2009: Google introduces real-time searches.
• 2010: 90% of American households have a mobile phone. Young people between 13 and 24 years old spend 13.7 hours on the Internet, slightly more than the 13.6 hours they spend watching television.
• 2012: There are already 54.8 million tablet users.

Marketing Objectives

For marketing to be effective, having a clear objective is crucial. Without knowing what you want to achieve, creating a marketing plan is pointless. The notion of “I have to promote myself because my neighbor is doing it” is not helpful; it’s a waste of money.

Take the time to carefully define your marketing objective from the start. Once you have a clear goal, everything else falls into place, and your efforts become purposeful and effective.

Here are 10 examples of marketing objectives that can inspire you:

1. Make the brand known among the target audience: Implement strategic actions to enhance brand visibility and introduce it to a new audience. This involves carefully planning how to communicate the brand’s offerings to potential customers and stand out in the market.

2. Increase market share: Strive to secure a prominent position within the market in comparison to competitors. This means becoming a recognized name within a specific segment of the market, ensuring that the brand is among the preferred choices for consumers.

3. Launch a new product: Successfully introducing a new product involves more than just putting it out there. It requires thoughtful strategies such as understanding the target audience, setting an appropriate launch price, and creating a comprehensive launch plan to ensure the product resonates with customers.

4. Improve ROI (Return on Investment): Optimize the benefits derived from marketing and advertising investments. This involves carefully tracking and analyzing the results of marketing efforts to ensure they contribute positively to the company’s overall financial goals.

5. Introduce the company into new international or local markets: Expand the company’s reach by entering new geographic markets. This could involve reaching customers in other countries or tapping into untapped local markets to diversify the customer base.

6. Increase business profits: Develop a strategic marketing plan aimed at improving the company’s financial performance over a specific timeframe. This could involve exploring new revenue streams, improving cost-efficiency, or enhancing existing product lines.

7. Optimize the conversion funnel: Maximize the efficiency of the customer journey by refining each step of the conversion funnel. This ensures that potential customers smoothly progress from being aware of the brand to making a purchase or taking the desired action.

8. Capture new leads: Enhance the process of acquiring potential customers, focusing on both the quantity and quality of leads. This involves implementing strategies to attract individuals who are likely to become long-term customers.

9. Build customer loyalty: Strengthen efforts to retain existing customers by investing in loyalty marketing. This includes developing programs and initiatives that encourage repeat business and enhance the overall customer experience.

10. Increase sales: While increasing sales is a common objective, it’s crucial to prioritize sustainable growth rather than pursuing short-term gains. This involves understanding the market, refining the product or service offerings, and creating value for customers to foster long-term success.

Ideal Qualities of a Digital Marketing Professional

In the digital marketing world, having the best talent is vital for success. However, there’s a gap between the skills companies need and what’s available. Since digital marketing is still relatively new and always changing, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s required for each job.

To clear things up, let’s describe the ideal online marketing professional—what qualities and skills they should have. This will help make sense of the evolving landscape in digital marketing.

• Today’s marketers need to be ready for constant change and always look ahead. They should be curious, trying out new ideas and staying interested in what’s new, even if it means making mistakes.
• It’s impossible to be an expert in everything in the complex world of online marketing. Still, a good marketer needs various skills like being creative, understanding digital tools, and analyzing data effectively.
• Teamwork is crucial in marketing, with 78% of professionals considering it one of the most important traits. Lastly, successful marketers focus on understanding consumers rather than just promoting products. They adapt to what consumers need and want.

The 10 most important skill in digital marketing

Now that we have an idea of what the ideal digital marketing professional should be like, let’s explore the next question: what specific skills should they have? These are the in-demand digital skills commonly sought after in hiring processes:

Capture and Retain Customers through Digital Strategy:

This skill involves creating and executing strategies to attract and retain customers using digital platforms. Despite being in high demand, it’s often the least implemented. Successful marketers understand the digital landscape and use it effectively to engage and keep customers.

Develop Business Strategies for Digital Innovation:

Adaptation and the adoption of new tools are crucial in today’s dynamic digital world. A proficient marketer not only embraces change but actively seeks opportunities for innovation. Business strategies should be geared towards fostering digital advancements.

Implement Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategies:

Transformed customer expectations in the digital era necessitate specific strategies and technologies for managing and enhancing customer relationships. An effective marketer leverages CRM tools to personalize interactions and strengthen connections with customers.

Utilize Strategies and Technologies for Knowledge Exploitation:

Companies need to tap into the vast knowledge within the digital realm to uncover new possibilities and address challenges. A skilled marketer understands how to promote and leverage digital knowledge for the benefit of the business.

Team Coordination in Digital Environments:

In a collaborative digital world, coordination and teamwork are essential for achieving objectives. A proficient digital marketer seamlessly integrates into a team, recognizing that collective efforts often lead to success.

Develop a Digital Marketing Plan:

Crafting a comprehensive digital marketing plan is a fundamental step that is sometimes overlooked. A well-thought-out plan provides direction, ensuring that marketing efforts align with broader business goals.

Evaluate Customer Experience during Key Moments:

Understanding the customer experience is vital in modern marketing. Marketers should identify and analyze key moments to gain insights that enable continuous improvement in customer satisfaction.

Content Sharing on Cloud and Social Networks:

Keeping abreast of content sharing on cloud platforms and social networks is essential. These channels have significantly impacted how information is disseminated, and a savvy marketer stays updated to leverage these avenues effectively.

SEO and SEM Knowledge for Client Site Positioning:

For effective digital presence, marketers need to grasp the essentials of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). This knowledge helps in achieving favorable positioning for client sites on search engines.

Data Analysis and Information Processing Skills:

In a world overflowing with information, having the ability to obtain relevant data and process it is indispensable. A skilled marketer goes beyond gathering data to analyze and derive actionable insights, ensuring the information contributes meaningfully to decision-making processes.

As you can see, working in digital marketing requires a very complete and adaptable professional profile. And in this sector there is no room for conformity or boredom.

The 10 professional digital marketing profiles with the most future

In digital marketing, things change fast, and it’s never boring. The hottest technologies today might be old news in just a few months. Job opportunities also shift based on what the market needs. So, to make sure you’re not missing out on anything, here’s a list of the 10 most promising digital marketing profiles for the future.

1) Chief Experience Officer

What do you need:

• Expert knowledge in design.
• Computer knowledge.
• Creativity.
• Management skills.

In the future of digital marketing, making users happy is the main focus. The Chief Experience Officer (CXO), who is in charge of this, needs to know a lot about marketing, technology, and design. They should be empathetic, understanding what users want, and be good at leading a team. Instead of being an expert in just one thing, they need to see the big picture of creating content for different places.

2) Virtual reality editor and 360 degree videos

What do you need:

• Experience in object-oriented programming.
• Project management experience.
• Video experience.
• Knowledge of software such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Unity 3D.

Virtual reality and 360-degree videos are becoming more popular, and this trend is just getting started. While the concept of virtual reality has been around for decades, recent advancements in technology have made it accessible and affordable for consumers.

Working with this innovative format requires a different approach than traditional video methods. The ideal digital marketing professionals for this role not only have experience in related areas but, most importantly, a keen willingness to explore new ideas and techniques.

3) Bot developer

What do you need:

• Degree or similar in computer science.
• Knowledge of linguistics, interactivity, programming, design, engineering, natural language processing and ethics.

The investment in artificial intelligence is booming, with global spending growing at an annual rate of 54%, as per an IDC study. If you’re exploring new job opportunities in the future of digital marketing, the realm of bots offers intriguing options.

Chatbots, in particular, are a recent trend in marketing, gaining momentum, especially since their integration into platforms like Facebook. However, it’s a field where demand surpasses supply. Bots are expected to excel in specialized areas, such as financial services or insurance, where a high level of expertise is crucial.

4) IoT Marketing Strategist

What do you need:

• Training in engineering and telecommunications.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is experiencing rapid growth. By the end of 2017, there were already 8.4 billion devices connected to the internet globally, and projections suggest this number will surge to 20.4 billion by 2020.

This expansive field encompasses various gadgets, ranging from wearables to connected appliances. Professionals in this domain need to possess expertise in navigating the complexities of sensors, radio frequency, digital signage, smartphones, wearables, and essentially anything capable of transmitting data. Their role involves helping companies make sense of the vast array of IoT information and technologies.

5) Mixed reality designer

What do you need:

• Postgraduate training in graphic design or computer animation.
• Knowledge of Unity 3D.
• Be familiar with cognitive and social psychology, user experience design and storytelling.

After virtual reality, there’s mixed reality, which adds interactive elements to our everyday world. It’s like the “wild west” of possibilities. In digital marketing roles related to mixed reality, what’s valued most is not just expertise, but a genuine interest and curiosity in exploring new ways of expression.

6) Data Scientist

What do you need:

• Degree or postgraduate degree in computer science.
• Good knowledge of machine learning, mathematics, artificial intelligence and data optimization.

In the United States, there’s a need for around 181,000 experts in advanced analytics, and nearly a million more professionals are required to handle all the data we have. These roles involve using advanced techniques to turn messy information into useful business insights.

People in these digital marketing jobs usually need a formal background in math, focusing on subjects like statistics, linear algebra, and calculus. But what’s even more important is their curiosity and determination to find valuable answers in a massive pile of data.

7) Machine learning engineer

What do you need:

• Experience in programming, machine learning algorithms and statistics.

Our world is becoming more algorithm-driven, and in digital marketing, machine learning is becoming incredibly important.

Machine learning will be a key player in all aspects of marketing, so having experts in this field is crucial. The best candidates are those who are familiar with math, statistics, physics, and programming, especially in languages like Python or Scala. These skills are essential for navigating the changing landscape of digital marketing.

8) Omnichannel Commerce Strategist

What do you need:

• Postgraduate training in psychology or neuroscience.
• Critical thinking.
• Be familiar with data analysis, marketing strategy, project management, user experience and rapid prototyping.

On LinkedIn, you can find many job openings for digital marketing roles focused on omnichannel strategies. The position of an omnichannel commerce strategist, while relatively new, is expected to be highly in demand in the coming years.

These experts should know how to use new technologies to make a big impact online and offline, all in real-time. They also need to understand all aspects of the business to provide well-rounded solutions.

9) AI Developer with Voice Recognition

What do you need:

• Degree in computer science or linguistics.
• Experience with JavaScript and Python, as well as Alexa, Google Assistant or Microsoft Cortana projects.

Voice recognition, a part of artificial intelligence, is now a common way to interact with mobile devices. For digital marketing experts, it’s crucial to know how to create their own solutions using artificial intelligence.

Right now, the most promising solution in this area is voice assistants. These assistants should understand users’ natural language and provide a smooth experience for effective interaction.

10) Hologram designer for retail

What do you need:

• Degree or postgraduate degree in computer science or 3D design.

Imagine a mall where you can experience a reality similar to what you see in The Matrix. Well, that might not be far off! 3D holograms are the future solution for digital marketing in physical stores. They allow stores to show products that are currently not available, giving customers a unique and personalized shopping experience.

Digital marketing plan: how to make one step by step

If you want to succeed, having a good marketing plan for your company is essential. Without it, your team might end up working without coordination, and you could waste time and money with average results.

Creating a plan that works is like following a step-by-step method. While there can be some adjustments based on your company’s situation, there are key steps to make sure your plan has all the important information in a useful format. Let’s break down how you can do that.

1) Analysis of the situation

Before deciding where we want to go, it’s important to know where we are right now. In this step of the marketing plan, we aim to accurately understand our current situation.

We can use tools like SWOT analysis (looking at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to help. Whether you prefer one tool over another is up to you, but it’s crucial to cover key points, including:

Current Company Situation:

• What products we have
• How much money we’re making
• Where we’re promoting our products

Sector Environment:

• Any challenges in our industry
• Our suppliers

Market Situation:

• How the market is changing

By understanding these aspects, we can build a solid foundation for our marketing plan.

2) Competition

Now, let’s talk about our competitors. This part is really important, so we’re giving it its own spotlight.

We make a list of our competitors, especially the ones closest to us, and take a closer look at how they’re doing in the market. We want to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and the strategies they’re using to sell. This helps us spot opportunities in the market and gives us ideas for our own marketing plan strategies.

3) Products or services: strategic position and objectives

In this part, we’re going to dig deeper into what our company offers, aiming to answer these questions:

1. What are the characteristics of my product or service?
2. What tangible and intangible benefits does it bring to customers?
3. What makes my product stand out from the rest? (Unique selling proposition.)

By combining this information with our market and competition analysis, we can determine a strategic position for our products. Based on this position, we can then set broader business goals. These overall business objectives will later be transformed into specific marketing goals.

4) Price and positioning

Setting the right price is crucial for the success of a product or even an entire company. Let’s take a closer look at this:

The price should be competitive in the market but also generate a reasonable profit. So, the first step is to calculate all the costs related to manufacturing and distribution.

Additionally, it’s essential to consider the prices set by competitors and how our product compares to them. This helps position our product in the market, whether as a budget-friendly option or a premium product.

5) Marketing strategies

Now, let’s start thinking strategically about our company marketing plan using all the info we’ve gathered. Here, we’ll sketch out the key elements of our marketing, like:

1. Product Lineup: Deciding on new launches or giving priority to specific products to meet our goals.
2. Target Audience: Figuring out which market segment(s) we’re going after. Creating a buyer persona, a made-up profile of our ideal customer, can help us understand them better.
3. Positioning: Connecting this with the price we set earlier.
4. Promotion: Planning how we’ll let our target audience know about our products and services.
5. Distribution: Deciding how we’ll get our product or service to the market.

6) Action plan

Now, let’s get practical with the action plan – the hands-on part of our company’s marketing strategy. Here, we decide on the specific moves to make our strategies a reality and hit our goals. Here are some examples:

1. Price-related Moves: Changing prices, giving discounts, offering special deals, and setting up financing plans.
2. Sales and Distribution Moves: Negotiating with suppliers, cutting costs, and improving delivery times.
3. Product-related Moves: Adding new features, launching new products, tweaking packaging, and more.
4. Communication Moves: Running online and offline ads, organizing events, and other ways to get the word out.

7) Live optimization

Think of the company marketing plan as your guiding map on this journey. If you don’t check it often, you might lose your way.

So, my advice is to include regular check-ins in the plan – usually through meetings and reports. This ensures that the action plan is on track and producing the expected results. If things aren’t going as planned, be ready to make the necessary adjustments. A solid marketing plan should be flexible enough for these changes.

8) Data analysis

To sum it up, keep a regular check on how well your marketing plan is doing. Dive into the details to understand what’s working and what’s not.

From this, learnings emerge, helping us tweak and improve our strategies for the next round. It’s like a cycle of constant improvement.

How to Update your Digital Marketing Strategy

1) Make your content more relevant to search engines

If you want your content marketing to work, you need to be easily found. And what better way to start than by ranking well in search engines?

Sure, follow the usual SEO tips. But here are three extra steps to make your content stand out:

1. Choose a specific market niche to target.
2. Get rid of any old, repetitive, or unimportant content.
3. Update the rest to match what your ideal customer wants.

2) Avoid the most common mistakes in Google Ads

Getting the most out of your Google Ads budget isn’t just about doing it right; it’s also about avoiding common mistakes. Here’s a checklist:

1. Set up conversion tracking accurately.
2. Ensure your geographic location settings are correct.
3. Track results by location, not just globally.
4. Review bidding strategy based on the time of day.
5. Avoid duplicate keywords.
6. Use negative matches to refine targeting.
7. Utilize the experiment’s functionality.
8. Have a clear bidding strategy in place.
9. Analyze results from search partners.
10. Don’t forget to use ad extensions for added visibility.

3) Do maintenance on your website

You’ve got a great website for your business—fantastic! Now, don’t let all that time and effort go to waste due to a lack of maintenance.

To keep things in top shape, create checklists for regular reviews and set specific intervals between each one. This ensures everything runs smoothly and consistently. Don’t let the upkeep slip through the cracks!

4) Take advantage of the power of landing pages

Wondering if landing pages are necessary for your online marketing? Here are 5 reasons to consider adding them:

5) Retarget

If you’re only running ad campaigns based on demographics and interests, you might be overlooking valuable opportunities to guide users toward conversion. That’s where retargeting comes in.

Retargeting campaigns specifically target users who have previously visited your website or taken specific actions on it. This allows for more refined personalization, increasing the likelihood of successful conversions.

6) Automate your marketing

Implementing your digital marketing strategy can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, but automation can simplify the process. Here are 7 processes you can start automating now:

1. Lead Capture: Use pop-ups to encourage users to provide their email in exchange for content, which will be automatically sent to their inbox.
2. Personalized Newsletters: Automate the sending of newsletters tailored to each user’s interests.
3. Welcome Emails: Set up automated emails to welcome new subscribers or customers.
4. User Recovery Campaigns: Automatically trigger campaigns to re-engage inactive users.
5. Abandoned Cart Recovery: Send automated reminders to users who abandon their carts during the checkout process.
6. Cross-selling Campaigns: Implement automated campaigns to promote complementary products based on users’ purchase history.
7. Purchase Reminders: Set up reminders for products that need replacement after a certain period, ensuring timely re-purchases.

7) Use affiliate marketing during Christmas

Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday are just around the corner, and Christmas shopping will begin shortly after. This is the busiest time of year for many brands, so it’s also a good time to test marketing strategies like affiliate marketing.

8) Optimize your customer service

Retaining customers is much more profitable than acquiring new customers. To achieve this, review your customer service with these hacks:

• Implement a “satisfaction meter” after each interaction to detect problems early.
• Personalize your email signatures with positive messages.
• Show the people behind your customer service team, for example, through photos and names.
• Listen and respond quickly.
• Compensate customers after a negative experience.

9) Avoid common blogging mistakes

Blogs are one of the bases of the content marketing strategy. But despite its popularity, many brands still fall into one of these mistakes. Don’t be one of them!

• Expect results too quickly.
• Publish low-quality texts (if necessary, hire an expert).
• Not being up to date with the latest in your sector.
• Don’t show passion for what you do.
• Be overly promotional.
• Not having a content plan.
• Be too impatient.

10) Find the right platform for your email marketing

Email marketing is part of the digital marketing strategies of many brands since it is a very effective way to stay in touch with the audience. But if you want to get the most out of it, you need to have the right platform. Don’t know where to start? Take a look at these four: Hubspot, Doppler, Clientify or Mailchimp. Below we share a tutorial on how to create an email marketing campaign in HubSpot. 

What is the marketing concept?

Marketing involves using various strategies to make brands stand out and attract attention from the public and consumers. It goes beyond just selling products; it aims to establish brand authority, build customer loyalty, share valuable information, and increase overall recognition.

With the rise of the Internet, marketing has expanded to online platforms, offering brands new opportunities for development alongside traditional channels like television and print.

Despite its modern appearance, marketing has ancient roots, with civilizations using strategies to boost exchanges and sales. Essentially, marketing is about effectively communicating a message to make people choose your brand over others, highlighting its crucial role for businesses and the risks of a poorly executed strategy.

What is marketing for?

Marketing and its different strategies can focus on achieving different goals, such as those we have mentioned before. However, one of the most central and important is to attract the public and make a brand known to the market. This purpose has become increasingly complex in a context like the current one in which the public is overwhelmed by the large number of brands on the market, in addition to new ones emerging every day. The advertising bombardment that exists causes consumers’ attention to be very limited and difficult to capture, making creating effective marketing strategies a challenge for professionals.

Within this ultimate objective, which is to make a product or service reach as many people as possible, there are other purposes that marketing also addresses, always in collaboration with other company teams, such as: launching a new product, introducing a company to new international or local markets, optimize the sales funnel, attract new customers or increase the reputation of a brand.

In short, marketing is one of the pillars on which the growth of a company is based, and without it, it would not obtain clients to remain competitive.

Marketing process

For any marketing strategy, to be truly effective, it must follow a series of steps that will allow us to precisely know the opportunities that the market has for our project, as well as how to analyze and segment it. The set of these steps or phases is called the marketing process. Therefore, any marketing strategy must follow a process in which the necessary information is first obtained and then put into practice by launching actions.

Without a marketing process well defined by the company, there is a risk of not knowing the needs and desires of consumers, as well as all the opportunities that exist in the market. This would cause a product, service, and marketing strategy to be launched that does not meet the expectations of the target audience and the brand cannot grow. 

What are the 6 steps to follow in the marketing process

From our experience helping brands, both large and small, map out an effective marketing strategy, we have been able to extract a 6-step marketing process. Coming up next, we tell you.

• Analyze opportunities: in this first phase of the marketing process, research will be carried out to find out who our main competitors are and what the public’s perception of our brand is, which will help us identify who our target audience is, That is, the suitable people to whom we can sell our product or service. During this analysis, we must also identify the needs and problems that our sector has in order to be able to supply them and stand out from the rest of the brands.
• Do market research: once you have the above information in your hand, it is time to choose the market you want to enter, taking into account the characteristics of what you offer. There may be several that could be interesting, but choosing one is the best option, especially in the early stages of a company. To select said market you will have to take into account the age, gender, economic level, and education, among other data of your target audience.
• Establish process strategies: in this phase of the marketing process, it is time to plan the actions that will be part of the strategy. It is very important to take into account the budget you have available to be able to adjust the actions to it and not go over or fall short. At this stage, you will have to resolve questions such as where do I want to sell my product or service? In what media will I have a presence? What communication style am I going to use? among others.
• Create an action plan for each strategy: as we have said before, marketing can have different purposes. For each of them, you must draw up a specific strategy. This action plan must specify each of the steps and actions that will be part of these strategies. This plan must also include the people responsible for executing it, the time each action will take and the results to be obtained.
• Apply the action plan: it is time to put all the previous planning into practice. As setbacks and unforeseen events may arise, the action plan must specify what to do about them, offering alternatives.
• Control and evaluate the marketing process : we could say that this is one of the most important parts of the marketing process. It is what will allow us to know if our strategy is well oriented or if, on the contrary, it needs some modifications. The most common thing is that some aspects need to be adapted, but don’t worry, it is very normal. The fundamental thing is to apply what you have learned and perfect the strategy so that, little by little, it becomes more perfect.

Business Marketing

Marketing can have different objectives and from this diversity of purposes, a great variety of types of marketing emerge. One of them is business marketing, the branch of marketing that focuses on strengthening customer relationships and boosting brand image. In this way, its ultimate goal is that customers are happy with what the brand offers, that they become loyal and become not only followers but also ambassadors of the company.

To achieve its objectives, business marketing uses techniques from other types of marketing such as strategic, digital, and even neuromarketing.

One of the bases for your business marketing strategy to work and achieve results is to know the 4Ps of marketing adapted to your brand:

• Product: What does your brand offer consumers and what need is it filling?
• Price: what price and promotion strategy are you going to carry out? Do you prefer to opt for a high price to convey the idea that you sell exclusive products? Or do you prefer to opt for popular prices to attract a greater number of consumers? By analyzing both your competition and your target audience you will find the answers to these questions.
• Promotion: how are you going to publicize your products or services? Are you going to use online, offline, or both channels? To guarantee the success of the promotion, it is essential that you choose sites or platforms where your consumers already have a presence. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for you to attract them. For example, if your customers spend a lot of time on Instagram or Facebook, it will be interesting for your brand to open an account on these social networks. In the same way, if your brand’s consumers are concentrated more in large cities, opening a store in the main cities of the country will be the best option. As you can see, these 4Ps are not only focused on digital marketing, but they also apply to more traditional marketing.
• Point of sale: where will your customers be able to buy what you offer? Keep in mind that at this point you will not only have to decide on the physical location (if it has one) but also if your business is going to have a digital presence and ecommerce. However, there is also the possibility that you sell through a marketplace.

Once you have defined these four elements, you will have the basis to continue designing your strategy. Without these, it is very possible that you will not achieve the expected results.

Understand How I Will Handle Your Marketing

Marketing is all those strategies and actions that help companies achieve their objectives, improve their sales and profits, and increase their brand perception.

I breathe and carry marketing and advertising in my DNA. We are experts in attracting users through recruitment marketing to our client’s websites or landing pages.

I will advise you on how to optimize your online marketing strategy and how to distribute your budget by channels in the best way.

• I will mark your steps and exceed your expectations.
• I have an analytical vision and react in the shortest time possible.
• Always testing. I guarantee the best impact by studying each experiment – ​​campaign or advertisement – ​​and performing multiple tests, to find which factors work best and continuously optimize your online marketing.
• I will increase the number of users happy with your brand and the experience they have had with you.
• We analyze results continuously, in real time, thanks to technology and artificial intelligence.

Don’t forget that there is still the most important step: start with your marketing strategy now! Be it offline or digital. If you are looking to launch a new product or service or relaunch it, I have a lot to offer you and I want to be part of your work team. The expert partner that will help you attract visitors, optimize your campaigns to the maximum, and obtain the best ROI.