Some people believe marketing is just advertising and publicity, regardless of it being done through offline channels, social networks or any other means. Others add to the perception of marketing the practices of building relationships with customers and sales.
Of course these answers are not completely wrong. Advertising can certainly be a small part of a marketing plan, but it is just a piece of the puzzle. In fact, marketing is all of this but also much, much more.
So then, what is marketing?
Hard to conceptualize something so broad in a few words, isn't it? But let’s give it a try!
Marketing is composed of several activities that are performed to understand the needs of the clients and the market. This knowledge will allow you to attend them in the best way and bring the best solution for each kind of client.
Although the concept is very linked to the sales area, Marketing involves several stages and strategies that happen before and after the marketing of a product or service. Hence, you can optimize your results and at the same time meet the needs of your customer in the best possible way.
What are the types of marketing and how can they help you as an entrepreneur?
Marketing can be divided into offline, online and digital marketing. Offline, or "traditional", marketing consists of print, radio and television marketing. Naturally, it also involves one of the most basic, yet successful, forms or marketing: word of mouth.
Most companies will use a combination of online and offline marketing methods according to their needs. However, these days, marketing professionals are betting more often on online marketing. This is because consumers spend more and more time online and digital marketing offers several advantages in terms of speed and efficiency.
So let's look at some of the types of online marketing available today:
Content marketing - generally considered a type of digital marketing, but it can also be offline. Some examples of content marketing include blogs, social media posts and videos.
Search Engine Optimization - known as SEO, is the process of optimizing the content of your website to make it more visible to search engines, like Google, to attract more traffic and visibility on your site.
Social media marketing - using social networks like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to build relationships with existing customers and reach a broader audience through digital word-of-mouth.
Influencers marketing - using opinion leaders who are individuals with a certain influence on social media channels to promote your product or service.
These are just some examples of the most popular types of marketing today.
Each of these methods can be divided into several other types of marketing and, in fact, there are hundreds or thousands of different types of marketing, covering several communication channels that vary for each type of business and consumer.
So, now you know a little about the definition of Marketing, its concept and the different types and methods.
We can conclude that, for all of us, entrepreneurs and self-employed living in Holland, it is important to understand that, to stand out in the middle of so much competition, having a marketing strategy for your business is of extreme importance.
Only then, you will be able to analyze which strategy is more effective for your business and public, achieving your goals and that of your company.