Marketing makes it move

A good working definition of marketing is to find out what someone wants and get it to them.

You have to give them the features and design and color and style that they want, of course, and provide the product at a good price point.

But basically that's the story.

Many people like to think marketing is selling what's in their inventory. That can work to a point but the key is to view the transaction from the buyers' viewpoint. The lack of loyalty to vendors and internet services like Priceline make this idea pretty obsolete.

In the old days, with limited distribution, it was perfectly logical to control the sale by advising the buyer that this product is only available from me at this time. So buy now at this price or forget it.

But nowadays, I can find almost any object at any price, including used and refurbished versions of almost anything (including books). The seller has less control over the marketing than in the past. Mostly, that is very good for consumers.

The key is that business must be able to make a profit large enough to stay in business over the long haul. The tried and try formula has been to sell to new customers at a loss the first time, then make your money back on reselling to the same customer again and again over time (the cost of servicing an existing customer being much less than acquiring a new one).

So let's get down to cases.

Traditionally, marketing has been taught by focusing on activities around the Four Ps:

Product
Price
Promotion
Place (distribution)

Of those four, I say that [more later]

Marketing messages

The old saw says that if you build it, they will come. But that is just not true. Its the same sentiment that says that if you build a better mousetrap, customers will beat a path to your door.

There are thousands of abandoned companies and products strewn along the road of marketing experience. Many times, those innovators who are the first to introduce their products and services find themselves sidelined by cleverer marketing imitators.

Here are five points for your marketing success checklist:

If you can explain your product or service by comparing it to something that already exists, you are more likely to be successful.
If you can create a visual impression in the mind of your customer, instead of depending upon words, you are more likely to be successful.
If you cannot explain your product or service in 45 seconds and have people get it, you will not be successful.
If you know your product's unique value proposition, instead of its three or four equal attributes, you are more likely to be successful: Translation: focus.
If your customer can see that your product or service offers big rewards with little risk, you are golden. Your job is to convince him/her that this is the case

All Business Web site is a good source of business and marketing resources. This page presents some videos on improving my marketing.

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A List Apart
This renowned site covers Web content and design. Excellent for finding gonzo CSS snippets and templates. The more the HTML and scripts coding is delegated to a separate file, the faster the pages are going to load and the easier redesigning the pages are going to be.

GTD Apps
Getting Things Done (GTD) is a concept that seems self-inuitive but we live in an age where people can make something out of nothing so, anyway, Dave Allen has done that. GTD is a series of lectures, ideas, Web sites, etc. that could be helpful. Take a look at the Wikipedia entry.

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Life Learning Today

Prospecting

There are several good new prospecting tools available. One is Jigsaw. http://www.jigsaw.com. This enables me to search for contacts among millions in their database. The system works on a point scheme where I get points for submitting leads and then can use the points to "purchase" leads.

Very good database so far. ZoomInfo looks very promising. http://www.zoominfo.com/ . ZoomInfo is the same kind of service but the user interface is better.

Xing is another. https://www.xing.com/ . This one seems to be oriented to include international contacts.

Another lead generating source is Netprospex .

AP Style Book - Have a question about style? Should I use that or which?

Merriam Webster Dictionary -

Marketing makes it move

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