Now that a bit has been done to distinguish Marketing from the other concepts it could be misconstrued to mean, we must understand that for marketing to be successful, it needs to be planned and documented; this document is called the Marketing Plan or Marketing Program.

Within the MP, you are required to identify the ideal client or prospect for the product or service in question. When you do this it is easier to tag the channels that will allow you make meaningful contact with this profiled segment.

Once that is done the style and budget can be properly defined, tests can be designed to note if the chosen method will be fruitful or futile. What follows will be determined by the outcome of the test phase.

Do everything you can to ensure you apply detail to the entire process; you do not want to waste time or money. In terms of marketing, wasted efforts could be annoyingly expensive.

Many people confuse the concept of Marketing with Advertising and Sales. The truth is these three concepts are unique and very different from each other. However they are related and interconnect at different point during the course of running a business.

When a product or service is advertised, it is being promoted to build the public’s awareness of its availability and the value it promises. However, when a product or service is being marketed the ultimate goal is to create a sale. For both concepts the idea is to lead to a sale but they are not necessarily expressed in a similar fashion. Marketing proposes a deeper and more personal level of engagement and creates a proper relationship with the prospect.

A sale is a conclusive transaction that fulfills the goal of the marketer or sales person.

Marketing involves a detailed and strategic approach, most times it is methodical and requires the use of media channels to express it’s purpose and intent.

From all I have discussed in previous posts, you can clearly see that the duty of Public Relations Executives surpasses managing your corporate image or carrying out damage control and organizing press releases. It goes beyond all that simply because the public isn’t only waiting for something to go awry; they form an opinion about you from their very first interaction with you or your organization [First Impressions].

The next step is to help form what the public perceives of you. From the very first set of media communications you send out, be sure they are underlined by one or two of the main points that make up your core message. And ensure that the press releases you are putting together clearly voice your core message.

At every point within your financial year ensure that PR budgets are properly aligned to the motives of your core message, do all you can with social and traditional media to continually present your core message to the public.

You must understand these concepts have their rooting in the realm of psychology; by this I mean humans are psychological beings; they form most of their opinions and beliefs unconsciously. The mind works with what it is fed, feed the minds of your public with the core message that truly represents you.

Start doing this today.

When defining your public relations program, it is important to note, behind every successful public relations campaign, there is a core message that is to be communicated to your audience. The things you want them to know and understand about you or your organization.

The core message is usually broken into five or seven main points all centred around your vision, your philosophy, your view on bettering society through what you do, your values, your aspirations or ambitions in not so ambiguous terms.

The truth is when these main points are properly outlined and understood; one can communicate them clearly through press releases, media interviews, media campaigns and corporate social responsibility activities and even websites and communication materials; like brochures and information booklets.

Your core message serves as a guide, it directs the design of any Public Relation program or plan you may have.

So the first step is to clearly outline all the main points that make up the core message backing your PR.

To determine the true culture that matches your vision and style of business, first outline your values [your mantra]. You need to know what else you stand for besides making a profit. It needs to be clear to you if  its going to be properly communicated to the individuals who decide to join your team.

Once done, it will become clear to you the kind of people you would be able to work with to achieve your objectives. This is an important phase of business development because it forms the very foundation and identity of your establishment. It will directly relate to your brand, PR, even your product or service.

If you take the time to complete this phase with proper acumen you will be delighted at the results and you would have been properly equipped for building up the right team and establishment.

Best of Luck!

Team spirit is not a far-fetched concept though it does not manifest by magic. There are some things that should never be taken for granted when building a team, a business or corporation. Some things should never be left to assumption. By default people need guidance, and guardians need to establish clarity of goal and purpose as well as their definition.

Now we know that a business is made up of the people that drive it, a company can only go so far by systems and processes. The people that are dedicated and committed to working by those set processes do not just fall in line, they prefer to be guided onto that place and then trusted to abide with little or no supervision.

The truth is that the average individual, no  matter how disciplined; may not perform at their best without supervision if there are no boundaries, set rules or expectations not to speak of, performance definitions and indicators in place. My stint in the corporate circuit taught me this first hand.

Every team, business or establishment is to be built on a culture defined by values and aspirations. Without this there is no underlying purpose. The Vision and Mission need to be expressed through channels defined by these values. This is a true fact.

So first things first, answer this question; what values are your team, business or organization built on? What is the culture that drives you?

When these things are defined, then you can begin to attract and recognize the people that fit your team, business or organization, then your overall vision.

Based on all our previous discussions a brand can be termed as a psychological concept. It has everything to do with perception. You first define the value you want the market to perceive of or from your product, sometimes the value is truly existent, other times the audience is manipulated to believe that it is. Whichever the case, it all boils down to how a brand is communicated to the public and how consistently that is done. The lifespan of a brand however is closely linked to how true the value is.

To build a successful brand one must invest in communications, by this I mean a strong graphic logo, a strong graphic campaign [advertising], a strong key message, a good and consistent Public Relations campaign, quality representation and packaging of the product or service.

A brand promise is the value that it proposes to its consumer or audience in a bid to deliver it to them.

When the value promised is actually experienced & enjoyed by the consumer of the product or service, then the BRAND is said to have INTEGRITY or VALUE EQUITY.

When a brand has successfully captured and owned a word, category in the mind of the consumer, to the point where they trust it and would prefer to use nothing else other than the product or service itself, then the BRAND is said to have LOYALTY.

When a majority of general consumers are aware of a brand’s message, clearly understand it, and can effectively communicate it to another party, a BRAND is said to have STRENGTH.

I can provide so much information but there is a lot more to learn about Brands & Branding, how to brand a physical product, how to brand a virtual or web-based product or service, from naming them to packaging them.

I recommend you read books by Al & Laura Ries for a great deal more.

Some say and I agree that the name given to a name product or service should relatively suggest what it is about in a blink.

Others say and I also agree that a truly successful brand is one that captures and owns a word in the mind of the consumer. For instance when you think COCA COLA or COKE you think great cola drink, when you think KODAK you think modern cameras, when you think OMO you think good detergent, when you think MERCEDES BENZ you think expensive luxury car and so on and so forth.

Simply put, a good brand is one that dominates or owns a category or sub category in the mind of the consumer.

Key elements of branding are involved in every phase of the business development cycle, from the idea conceptualization to the development of the product or service, up to the research, the business planning, and the marketing and implementation or production phases.

To put it simply the best products are birthed to address a need, in the clearest terms, when a need is addressed the outcome is that value is achieved, this means that anyone who decides to design a product or service to meet a need must ensure the value possessed by the product or service can and will meet the need it is designed to address. Once that quality exists, the basis for the brand promise is also existent.

The next step however is to define the other supporting elements that aid any brand’s value communication. At this point, it is safe to assume that you have defined your target market based on research. All the communications you define would have been designed with them [your target market] in mind and of course the product or service itself.

The most popular error holding the number one spot amongst many business owners is the “I can do it all by myself” syndrome, close behind and ranking at number two is “employing just anyone off the street to fill a spot”.

The reasons for this are quite understandable; many entrepreneurs start off with the inability to employ staff to help run the business for lack of funds, space and other resources. But as a business grows and evolves, a single individual cannot effectively and successfully manage all aspects of the business operation. Even with current technologies that help you manage clients and emails, you still need people to operate them.

Bottom line is, every business needs people, not just systems and processes, the right people!