The Difference Between Marketing & Advertising
Let’s define marketing & advertising. Advertising is a function of marketing, but what is marketing? Marketing is understanding why customers are choosing to buy from one business and not another. A smart brand doesn’t do marketing to get more business, they do marketing to build a loyal following. Loyal customers share the same beliefs as the brands they follow.
Advertising
A pizzeria puts an advertisement in the mail to get hungry people to buy pizza that week. Stop advertising and the sales fall off. Common mistake: They keep doing this when sales are expected to drop.
Marketing
A sandwich shop markets their slogan “a cut above” with constant effort to put their brand in front of people (advertising). Done year round, year after year, the sandwich shop builds a robust reputation and establishes trust with its customers for being “a cut above”. Good marketing starts with the words and actions of its employees. Marketing done once or twice, yields zero results. For marketing to work well, it has to be a belief that both staff and customers uphold.
Marketing & Advertising Work Together
Marketing and advertising when done right will serve as a constant reminder that your company is working towards the beliefs and values of its customers. Think of it like two friends, one whom you have so many things in common with, and the other always keeps you up to date.
How to be a leader in a category instead of being part of the noise?
In the pizzeria example above their advertising dollars were not totally wasted – they got customers to buy pizza. But their competition can easily cut into their business by also putting a flyer out there. This creates noise in the marketplace.
A smart business confidently stands for the should in the marketplace. Fill in the blank: “flooring should be ___”, “buying appliances should be ___”, “buying a home should be ____”. Marketing & advertising work hand in hand to serve the long-term goal of establishing a strong brand.
Why do your customers buy from you? If you are a business owner who can’t answer this question then stop everything else you are doing and read this article very carefully!
Slogan
It’s not your business name, it’s not your brand’s image. A slogan is the words you use to speak of your belief. Your customers are the ones who share in that belief. Apple believes that computers should be secure and simple that’s why they “think different”.
Belief
The real reason behind every successful business – even if the founder(s) are oblivious to it! The believe is the fundamental reason customers will buy from you instead of somewhere else. A believe sounds like “I believe every sandwich should taste this good”, I believe you should always get this much when you buy a meal”, I believe every lunch is an opportunity to fuel a healthy lifestyle“, “I believe that a good sandwich shop should be convenient“.
It is the reason why the customer doesn’t go somewhere else.
I don’t want to hear “because there is nowhere else to go!”, that’s an automatic fail. After all, many companies can be trusted, many companies can deliver good value, or fast service. But once you know why they are going with you and your why lines up with their why, then you will be able to build a strong following.
The next piece of the puzzle. Making sure your staff know why. Do your staff’s why overlap with your businesses why?
Please contact me to inquire about your upcoming projects.
Links to past work:
Wine bottle photography
Food bar photography
