An estimated $1 trillion dollars a year is lost due to a lack of sales and marketing coordination in the United States. Hence, marketing is fundamental to any industry from construction, healthcare, manufacturing, laboratories, and more. By effectively communicating the value of their products and/or services to their target audience, marketing is a tool for organizations across industries to drive sales, increase brand awareness, attract new customers, build customer loyalty, and foster a positive brand image.
Defining Marketing
Marketing is all the activities and processes by which a company sells a product or service to a consumer. Marketing, however, is far more complex than that definition and includes many activities, such as market research, strategy, product development, pricing, establishing market segments, developing and executing advertising campaigns across multiple channels, branding, sales, delivering products, and engaging with customers and processing feedback.
How Do Industries Use Marketing?
Here are examples of how different industries may use marketing:
- Laboratory: Highlight a lab’s accreditation, expertise, and compliance with quality standards through content marketing, case studies, and testimonials to establish trust with potential customers.
- Technology: Utilize content marketing to educate consumers about new tech features, optimize social media to build community, and use targeted ads to reach specific demographics.
- Automotive: Promote and advertise vehicles and related services by strategically creating campaigns across various channels like traditional advertising, digital marketing, social media, events and content creation.
- Chemical: Conduct a deep analysis of market trends, competitor landscape, and regulatory factors to identify potential customers and their specific needs.
- Retail: Employ promotional campaigns, email marketing, and social media contests to drive sales during peak seasons.
- Construction: Connect with potential customers, differentiate from competitors, and grow their business.
- Healthcare: Create educational content about health conditions, use social media for patient engagement, and run targeted campaigns to promote specific services.
- Manufacturing: Focus on B2B marketing strategies to reach other businesses, showcase product capabilities, and build strong customer relationships.
It is essential that industries adhere to relevant industry regulations, safety guidelines, and any applicable standards.
Standards Relating to Marketing
Adhering to standards helps build trust with potential customers that an industry’s product or service is safe, high quality, and effective. For example, adhering to quality management standards like ISO 9001 can help drive revenue for businesses by drastically improving customer satisfaction via consistent high-quality products and services, enhancing credibility with potential clients, and reducing operational costs due to improved efficiency—all of which ultimately lead to increased sales and customer retention.
ISO 20252 establishes a framework for managing the entire market research process, from planning to reporting, assuring high quality standards throughout. The document promotes adherence to ethical research practices and data privacy standards. Compliance to this international standard demonstrates commitment to quality and professionalism to clients; it can improve internal processes and potentially attract more business.
ISO 19731 defines terms, service requirements, and quality controls (that apply to the use of cookies, page impressions, and site navigation for websites) for digital analytics and web analysis used in market research, encompassing aspects like website traffic, social media engagement, and user behavior on digital platforms. This international standard assures that digital marketing data is collected, analyzed, and reported accurately, allowing for reliable insights and informed decision-making.
For businesses, compliance with standards can help increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, improve the quality of products or services, and enhance their competitive advantage in the markets.
How Does Marketing Drive Revenue for Businesses?
A study involving 930 startups found that businesses who had help from volunteer marketers grew their monthly sales by 51.7% on average, their monthly profits improved by 35.8%, total assets increased by 31.0%, and the number of paid employees rose by 23.8%. Clearly, marketing contributed to a giant boost in sales for these emerging businesses.
For larger businesses, it is important to continuously engage with consumers via marketing tactics. A study found, for example, that customers need to see a given brand at least 7 times before they commit to a purchase decision; another study found that consistent branding can lead to a revenue increase of up to 23%. Ultimately, effective branding allows a business to build human relationships with their audience, which can eventually turn them into loyal customers. Standards, such as ISO 20671, allow organizations to compare their brand performance against industry benchmarks using a consistent methodology. In this way, adhering to standards can be a marketing tool for businesses to enhance their brand by considering factors like quality, service, innovation, and customer perception.
What Are the Key Benefits of Marketing?
Marketing is vital for a business’s success for the following reasons:
- Increased brand awareness: Making customers aware of your product or service, establishing a recognizable identity in the market.
- Customer acquisition: Attracting new customers and expanding your customer base.
- Customer retention: Building loyalty and encouraging repeat purchases from existing customers.
- Improved customer engagement: Creating meaningful interactions with customers through various channels.
- Market research insights: Gathering data about customer needs and preferences to inform product development and marketing strategies.
- Targeted communication: Delivering relevant messages to specific customer segments based on their demographics and interests.
- Competitive advantage: Differentiating your brand from competitors and establishing a strong market position.
- Sales growth: Driving sales volume and revenue through effective marketing campaigns.
- Positive brand image: Managing brand perception and reputation to create a favorable customer experience.
Businesses should understand the benefits of marketing to help build a brand awareness and visibility—thereby garnering a competitive edge.