You will realize in reading this compact article that the basic logic, which underpins the concept “marketing”, is very simple, practical and highly effective.

The concept “marketing”, in its early development stages was only build on advertising and personal selling techniques. The advertising part of the concept was derived from the fact that the human mind gets programmed into a state of belief, by a repetitive message. In other words, if you hear something over and over, you’ll start to believe that specific message is true and real.

• We should therefore realize that the effectiveness of advertising (promotion) will mainly be determined by repeating the same message up to the “belief” point. In a good advert, the content of the message should communicate a solution, for a specific problem, the potential client (target market) is experiencing. In other words, promotion is all about telling prospective customers about an economic solution (product or service) for a problem they are having, and to convince the target market that this specific product/service (solution) will solve their problem(s) This will be achieved when the advert is communicating an effective message and in repeating it over and over again. These will then engrave the solution in the sub-conscious minds of customers in the target market.

• Media advertising works best for soughed products/services, but are less effective in selling unsought products/services. The solutions provided by unsought products/services are more complex and normally aimed at providing more long-term benefits. Life insurance policies are good examples. In these cases, advertising had to be supported by “personal selling” actions. The other promotional techniques are “publicity” and “sales promotions”. The entrepreneur needs to create an effective promotional mix, by the creative utilization of the techniques as described above in order to optimize communication with potential buyers.

The other part of the marketing concept was later developed, and was built on the fact that different groups of people have different needs, preferences like’s dislikes fears and dreams. The market was then segmented (divided) into prospective customer groups (target markets) who have the same profiles. For example, women, children, old people, etc. When this was done, a specific marketing mix (The traditional 4 P’s: Product, Price, Place and Promotion) has to be created. This simply means that a specific product/service, at a specific price, to be delivered in the best possible manner to optimize convenience for the customer (place). The advertising message should, last but not least, be specifically designed to optimize the communication with prospective buyers (promotion). A marketing mix specially created for every target market is therefore the core of an effective marketing plan.

In order to get the relevant information needed to create an effective marketing mix (the 4 P’s) for every target market, the entrepreneur has to do proper “market research”.

The information from market research plus creativity, logic and plain common sense is needed to build an effective marketing plan for the entrepreneurial business.

You ability to think strategically is of utmost importance in order to grow your business from small to big. The ability to think strategically is not rocket science; it is simply something you have to do, if you know how to do it.

Strategic thinking is, simply, the process of looking at the bigger picture surrounding your business. You must make a habit of scanning the various “external environments” (economic, political, social, legal and technological) by looking for opportunities, as well as for threats. You will be amazed how many new opportunities you’ll see when you start focusing on the various external environments. In this exercise you must get rid of old and vested paradigms. You should therefore always challenge your assumptions, as they present your current belief system (Paradigm). You will, as a matter of fact, also become aware of possible threats, which will enable you to make plans to counter them before it is too late. In countering threats, it could be necessary to change direction and/or diversify by adding new related products/services.

If you have to change direction and/or diversify, always remember to do it within your domain of passion and interest. You will also see when you start focusing that there is never a shortage of new opportunities.

You must also remember that business opportunities are viable solutions to problems, and as you know, problems are everywhere, begging to be solved.

The second part of strategic thinking will be driven by a focus on your business and business processes, as well as on your competitors. In this focus, you’ll be looking at strengths and weaknesses. Always search for possible ways of building on your strengths and eliminating your weaknesses in relation to your competitors. You must also never forget to do the same exercise with your customers in mind. Always strive to eliminate the weaknesses of your products/services and to build on their strengths. You’ll have to do this on a continuous basis in order to provide a better solution for your customers.

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