Marketing vs Advertising! Do you know the difference?
Marketing vs Advertising, what’s is the difference?
All my clients have to answer this question and I am surprised by the answers I receive.
You can walk away from reading this article but remember one thing! “If you can not measure it, it does not exist.” This applies to some things in life but it is SPOT ON when it comes to Marketing and Advertising.
Marketing…
is the overall science of “getting the word out” and art of promotion! Be it a business, concept, feeling, product, etc., and the management of same. It involves research, study and strategy development of targeted markets/consumers. Marketing measures and develops the methodology (advertising) of successfully reaching out to the potential buyer of a service or goods and motivating them to acquire that offering.
Advertising…
is the execution of a marketing plan directly to the targeted market/customer. Then marketing management has to measure and adjust the advertising to maximize the results. If you buy advertising without a marketing plan that includes research, planing, measurement and controls, chances are you are not spending your money wisely and will be disappointed with the outcome.
Many years ago, in my early twenties, I owned a Health Club with limited clientele base; a “Men’s Only” facility. I planned my marketing to reach men while they were engaged in sports and social events. My marketing was measurable because we would ask every man coming into the facility for a tour, “Where did you hear about us?”. Many were referrals because we had a great referral program rewarding the existing members to recruit new members. Many were also exposed to our marketing at golf courses, baseball/softball fields and health clinics.
Be it display ads, radio, newspaper or word of mouth, we measured the effectiveness of the advertising to have a successful Marketing campaign. To me,success meant if I spent X, my return was 3X.
After two and a half years, we opened a woman’s only facility next door and the marketing had to change. Now our market was men and women (no children under 14). Our uniqueness was they were in separate, but side by side, facilities. In the 1980’s, that was important. Our clientele were also mainly 25 and older. Today the market has changed and most “Family” “Fitness Centers” are coed. Remember, markets can change for the better and for the worse.
Today, online marketing is now the 800 pound gorilla in the corner you have to pay attention to and develop. It will not be the only method you ever use, but it is quickly moving to the dominate position. It is replacing radio and TV by making audio and video messaging to potential clients mobile. It can supplement email campaigns by harvesting additional emails and placing them directly in to your lead funnel.
I plan an overall online marketing plan for each of my customers using numerous social media venues and YouTube, which is the second largest search engine (both owned by #1 – Google). This allows the integration of a video message anywhere online reaching mobile, tablet and computer screens.
Mobile Friendly Marketing is now the dominant player. Google and Youtube are driving 90% of the traffic to businesses with Bing in a distant 3rd place. Remember, a tablet or mobile phone is now a TV and that means VIDEO!
As you learn more about marketing vs advertising you will need to develop a strategy for your company to move forward. If you need help developing the best plan for you, call me and lets discuss it further. Call 713-553-6212 and I can send you a Marketing vs Advertising planning guide!
I am here to help! Visit HoustonDigitalMarketing.com