The Ultimate Guide To All Things Marketing

Have you realized that we don’t photocopy — we “Xerox’’ it, how all video calls are “Zoom” calls, we don’t do internet searches — we simply “Google” it, how all tissue papers are just “Kleenex” and I could go on with more instances like these. What’s going on here? This is called genericization which is when people associate the brand name with the generic class of product itself. How does a brand achieve this status of being so famous and so ubiquitous that people associate that brand name with the action? Before that, how does a brand get built? Is it a good logo, clever advertising, good copy, celebrity endorsement? Or does it go beyond all of this?

So, what’s a brand, anyway?

The original, unambiguous purpose of branding was to identify a product or service as belonging to a certain entity. The early signs of branding were seen when people engraved or burnt signs into goods to identify them as their own. The word “brand” became more prevalent at the beginning of the twentieth century, but only experienced a significant increase in the 1980s, along with the dawn of brand consultancies.

Over the years the scope of brands included the following:

• Corporations / organisations/ institutions
• Products/services
• People /personal branding

There isn’t one finite definition of the word “brand”, it means different things to different people at different points in time.

However, in the broad sense of the word, a brand is an identifying symbol, mark, logo, name, word, and/or sentence that companies use to distinguish their product from others. A combination of one or more of those elements can be utilized to create a brand identity.

A good brand checklist…

• Has a clear focus
• Knows its target audience
• Has a defined mission
• Has a USP
• Has key values
• Has a story and can tell it
• Has a defined brand identity and is consistent in its voice.

Well, this is good, but how would a brand reach its audience. This is where MARKETING comes in, it is the bridge that connects the brand to the audience. Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service — it includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other businesses. In a nutshell, branding is who you are — and marketing is how you build awareness. Branding is your strategy, while marketing encompasses your tactical goals.

Fundamentals of Marketing

72 marketing definitions by experienced practitioners across different specialties. Click this link to get a perspective of the gamut of areas that the term “MARKETING” operates in.

For all its complexity in the very definition of the word ‘Marketing’, at its core, marketing revolves around four things: product, price, promotion, and place. Tactics and channels change, but these are the concepts everything else revolves around, and they’re principles that never change.

Product

This is what a company sells, whether that means a physical good or a service. It may be a product like a refrigerator, or it could be software like Canva. A consulting practice, a subscription, a timeshare holiday, all are examples of products. From a brand perspective, it’s about creating a product or service that the customers absolutely love.

From a marketing perspective, the following would need to be determined:

• How many different product variations or lines should be sold? For example, a DTH operator like Tata Sky might strategize on which DTH subscription packs to create (such as Hindi Basic HD, Marathi Smart, Bangla Pack, Tamil Lite New HD, Malayalam Metro HD, etc).
• How should they be packaged or presented?
• How will it be serviced? This could include warranties, handling returns, and so forth.

Price

This is just “how much stuff costs,” right? Well, sure. But there’s more to it than that. If marketing is all about driving profitable action, then prices need to be set at a level the market will support.

Here are some marketing considerations with prices:

• What is the market rate per unit of a product? This requires some market analysis and competitive research to determine what’s a fair price for a product, given its cost to produce, and what people are willing to pay.
• How should discounts be timed and applied? Should the product be put on sale at certain times of the year?
• Does it make sense to give customers options for payments? E-commerce sites like Amazon, for instance, have a plethora of payment options like Cash, Credit, e-wallets, Easy EMI, etc.
• What would be the lowest price you are willing to sell your product?
• What would be the highest price that consumers would be willing to pay?
• How sensitive to price are your customers?
• What prices do current leaders in your niche charge?
• How does your price compare to the competition?

Promotion

If a product launches but no one cares, does it even exist? Well, technically it does, but it’s just taking up space if no one’s buying it. Once a product is out there, it needs to be promoted so people know it exists.

Some questions to be asked here are:

• Which channels does your audience use the most to consume information?
• What kind of message tends to be more effective when promoting your solutions?
• What is the ideal period for promoting your product?
• Is there any concern about seasonality?
• Which channels will be used to promote the product? This includes online and offline channels.
• Where will it be promoted? Online? Offline? In stores? At events?
• What message needs to be communicated? What is the creative that will tell audiences what the product is all about, and encourage them to buy it?

Place

‘Place’ is another word for location. The right product needs to be in the right place for people to find it and buy it. As they say in marketing, it’s all about the… location, location, location. We have several examples of brands that have made it or tanked due to location. It would be interesting to see how brand IPL fares this season with the change in location from India to UAE.

Some questions to be asked here are:

• Where is your customer?
• Which outlets (online and offline) sell your product?
• Which distribution channels are currently working for you?
• Do you sell directly to businesses or consumers?
• Do you sell directly to your end customer or do you have to go through middlemen?
• Where are your competitors?
• Where is the product distributed? Online? Offline?
• Will specific locations get the product? For example, if you sell cold-weather clothing, you might not distribute as much to Mumbai as you might in New Delhi.

Science of Marketing is brilliantly explained in this article.

Conclusion

The 4 Ps of marketing may seem boring, but they are essential. Without them, the brand cannot differentiate itself from the competition. The 4 Ps help the brand stand out for its uniqueness and build a personality for the brand that customers identify with. Brand success is achieved by leveraging the 4 Ps.

When leveraged well these 4 Ps of a brand take the brand to unbelievable heights. Brands become icons or representatives of the category they belong to. The brand becomes so pervasive in everyday society as a result of its own fame, there’s an argument that it no longer represents the brand, it almost represents the action. How touching, “pass me the Kleenex please”. Oops, “I meant, pass me the tissue paper please”.

To be continued…