Marketing Methods

There are a variety of marketing methods available to businesses, individuals, and organizations that are looking to sell or promote a product, service or idea to a wider audience. While the term "marketing method" can theoretically be applied to just about any action that is taken to promote or sell a product, there are a set of common marketing methods that typically comprise most marketing campaigns. These methods include direct marketing, database marketing, advertising, web marketing, promotions, sponsorship, and public relations. Each of these marketing methods has its own benefits and drawbacks, and no one method is superior to the rest by rule. The general rule of thumb when creating a marketing campaign is to select the method or methods that will allow you to deliver the most effective message to the largest portion of your target audience, while still remaining within your budgetary constraints.

Keywords Advertising; Banner Ads; Database Marketing; Differentiating Quality; Direct Marketing; Positioning; Promotion; Public Relations; Search Engine Optimization; Segmentation; Sponsorship; Target Audience

Marketing > Marketing Methods

Overview

The marketing process encompasses designing, developing and naming a product, service or idea; determining how it will be priced, packaged, and distributed; creating a campaign for positioning the product in the marketplace; and touting its features and benefits to a target audience.

Virtually any action that is undertaken by a business or an individual to create demand and desire for a product or service could be considered a "marketing method." You are essentially limited only by your own creative imagination.

However, there are a number of commonly used marketing methods that are important to consider. These methods include database marketing, direct marketing, radio, television and print advertising, web marketing, promotions, sponsorship and public relations.

While the largest, loudest and most dramatic marketing campaigns often draw the most attention, they are not necessarily the most cost-effective. For a smart marketer, it is often possible — and far more financially prudent — to develop a targeted marketing plan that is based on a deep understanding of what your message is, who your target audience is, and what marketing methods your target audience is most likely to respond to.

Research, Analysis & Market Segmentation

Choosing the right marketing message — and the methods to convey that message — requires a great deal of market analysis and self-examination. It is necessary to determine what is unique about what a company has to offer, what the competition has to offer, and who the target audience is. By gaining a good understanding of these three factors, you will be better equipped to choose the right marketing methods for your campaign.

Determining Differentiating Qualities

The first step in the process is to determine what the differentiating quality or qualities are of the product, service or idea that a company is hoping to promote. Differentiating qualities are those aspects of the product, service or idea that are unique, and thus worthy of the customers' specific attention and consideration.

In her book, "Getting More Business" (1999), Sallyann Sheridan suggests that marketers consider a variety of aspects when it comes to determining the differentiating qualities of the products they are trying to promote. Is there something particularly unique about your location, approach to business, service policy, product guarantees, or customer service that is worth highlighting? Perhaps there is something unique about the selection you offer, how much product you have to offer, or the prices at which you offer goods.

Determining this differentiating quality is easy if a company is trying to promote a brand new invention that no one has ever seen before. But what about a men's clothing store along a busy commercial strip, facing competition from a several other retail outfitters within a short driving distance? Customers in the area have several options to choose from. Why should they visit a specific company?

Factors that could differentiate one company from another could include: selection, better prices, exclusive brands, better customer service, hours of operation, promotions, etc.

Once a company has determined what is special about what it has to offer, and what makes it different from the competition, it can start to think about the audience that it is trying to reach.

Determining the Target Audience

A target audience is a group of individuals that a company has identified as being the most important to reach with the message of a particular marketing campaign. A company determines the target audience through the process of market segmentation — division of a market into smaller, more specialized categories based on a variety of factors, including customer buying habits.

A target audience can vary depending on the purpose of the campaign. If the purpose of the campaign is to generate fast sales, the target audience might be existing customers who are likely to make large purchases quickly. If the purpose of the campaign is to broaden the customer base, the campaign could be targeted to individuals that have been identified as a good fit for the company, or former customers that a company is trying to win back.

Customer Characteristics

The more a company knows about their customers, the easier it will be to create a marketing plan that appeals to them. What factors influence their decision-making habits? What do they like about the company? What do they dislike?

There are many ways to gather information about a company's customers and potential customers. A company can host focus groups, visit trade shows, and talk with those in the company who interact with customers on a daily basis. A company can send out customer satisfaction surveys, or ask for comments on a web bulletin board.

There are now a variety of data-crunching computer software programs, such as SQL, that can be used to collect and analyze a huge repository of information about customer buying habits. Programs like SQL are able to break down consumer information based on a variety of factors, including geographical location, buying habits, buying frequency, most desired products, and so forth. In the past, advertisers targeted audiences by demographic, for example, running commercials aimed at married women of a certain age during weekday soap operas or ads for breakfast cereals and toys during Saturday morning cartoons. With data collection, campaigns can be crafted almost at the individual level, anticipating the likelihood that a consumer will be interested in a product based on their real time activity. Supermarkets can issue instant coupons in response to purchases. Internet browsers and Web sites can populate screens with ads based on recent searches. A diaper manufacturer, for example, does not need to waste marketing dollars advertising to all women in the eighteen to thirty-four year old category but can instead buy ad space on the digital devices of anyone searching for key words indicating pregnancy or the presence of a baby in the consumer's life. Such targeted market is both more efficient (saving dollars) and more effective (increasing sales) (WIND & Nelson-field, 2013). Data collection also helps a company track how well sales are responding to a certain marketing campaign, which is a great help in determining what marketing methods are working, and what aren't.

Choosing a Marketing Method

Once a company knows who it is, who its competition is, who the target audience is, and what it wants its message to be, it can start thinking about what marketing methods will work the best for a campaign.

Choosing the best marketing method is not an exact science. There is always an element of chance that comes with any marketing campaign. A company can, however, vastly improve its chances for success by carefully collecting and studying data about the buying habits of its target audience.

It is also important for an organization to maintain a flexible approach. A company shouldn't commit all of its resources and energy to one method until it has had a chance to gauge its success. It may be necessary to alter or abandon a course of action if it is not producing the desired result, and it always helpful to rethink, refresh and reconfigure an approach from time to time to prevent stagnation.

No matter what methods a company uses, the overall campaign should perform three basic functions. It should implicitly or explicitly set a company apart from the competition, clearly outline the message sent to the target audience, and be crafted in a way that is most likely to generate customer response.

Direct Marketing & Database Marketing

A direct marketing campaign is one that has a specific goal and seeks an immediate response from the customer. Direct marketing can take a variety of forms (including print advertisements, brochures, coupons, and television commercials) but the overall message includes some kind of request: "Ask your cable provider to add the NFL Network to your service package." "Call for free information on this revolutionary exercise machine." "Mail in this subscription card to start receiving National Geographic at home."

The advantage of direct marketing is that it is highly measurable — if a company's campaign desires that the members of its target audience perform a specific task, the effectiveness of the campaign can be gauged by determining how many do what is asked.

One of the drawbacks of a direct marketing campaign is that it is narrow in its focus. A company may lose out on other business opportunities by asking customers to do one specific thing. Direct marketing campaigns can also be expensive to produce, and new regulations on telemarketing and other aspects of direct marketing can make it difficult for marketers to connect with their target audience.

Database marketing is marketing directly to a defined group of individuals, whose addresses and/or contact information have been accumulated in database form.

The advantage of database marketing is that a company can send its message directly to individuals that have already been identified as interested in the product or service being offered.

These individuals could be existing customers, individuals who have expressed interest in company products in the past, customers who have expressed dissatisfaction with company products and services, or individuals that have been identified through research as likely customers for a product.

Clients that have been identified through a database marketing plan can be contacted using a variety of marketing methods, including email, phone calls, letters, catalogs, brochures, or mailings. A company can also market to them by using promotional items such as coupons, two-for-one deals, or free samples.

Database marketing campaigns can be used to boost business in a variety of ways. A company can try to increase the business of big clients by offering them incentives, exclusives, rewards, or volume-based price breaks. A company can also try to jump-start stagnant accounts by contacting them with information about new products or discounted items, or expanding your market share in a certain city or state by ramping up your marketing to customers in that geographical area.

The disadvantage to the database marketing is that a company's message is only being sent to the members of an identified group, and thus it is limiting its ability to reach anyone outside of that audience base.

Advertising

Advertising is a method of marketing in which a company or individual pays to deliver a specific message using an outside medium, such as television, radio, newspapers or magazines.

Advertising is a major component of marketing, and an excellent way to get a message out to target audiences. There have traditionally been three major forms of advertising (television, radio, and print) though web advertising rapidly gained prominence as a marketing method in the 21st century, and is covered in the web marketing section below.

Television Advertising

Television advertising is perhaps the most prominent and effective way to deliver a marketing message to a mass audience. Because it is so effective, it is also one of the most expensive. A 30-second advertisement during the Colts-Bears Super Bowl in February 2006, for example, cost $2.5 to $2.6 million. Seven years later, in 2013, the same spot cost $4 million. There are, however, lots of less expensive television venues to advertise in than the Super Bowl; from the big four networks (NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX) to local network affiliates, to basic cable channels (CNN, USA, TNT) all the way down to local access channels.

The nature of television advertising has changed in recent years, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for network executives to assure advertisers that their ads are being seen during commercial breaks. Tivo Machines, Cable DVR boxes, VCRs, and on-demand downloadable programs have fast-forward functions that allow viewers to skip through commercial breaks without watching the ads.

Network executives have tried to solve this problem by finding creative ways to integrate advertisements into the programs themselves. The Fox Television Network, for example, uses "green screen" technology to broadcast computer-generated advertisements onto a blank box behind batters during baseball games. The Fox network has also been using superimposed graphics to advertise upcoming movies during their television shows, ensuring that the message is reaching viewers who might be fast-forwarding through the ad breaks.

NBC's hit sitcom "The Office" frequently uses product placement to highlight the products offered by advertisers Hewlett Packard and Staples. The employees at the fictional company on the show noticeably work on Hewlett Packard computers, for example, and products from the Staples office supply company are often prominently featured on the show. On one episode, one of the main characters even took a job at a Staples store.

Print Advertising

Print advertising can run the gamut from display ads in newspaper and magazines to billboards, catalogs, leaflets, pamphlets and brochures. Print advertisements can be a highly effective way to reach a target audience, but they can also be expensive, primarily due to the cost of purchasing advertising space, and/or the cost of designing printing, distributing, and/or mailing brochures, pamphlets and catalogs.

Radio Advertising

Radio advertising is another effective way to get a marketing message out to a target audience. As Sarah White points out in her book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Marketing Basics" (1997), the advantage of radio advertising is that it is easier to target a message to a specific audience. A business that is looking to market a product to young people would likely choose a Top 40 station to advertise on, while someone looking to promote a product to Baby Boomers would be more likely to choose a station that has a classic rock, oldies or easy-listening format.

Radio has its advantages in that it allows a company to reach a wide audience for less than it costs to advertise on TV, but the medium is also being increasingly challenged for the ears of listeners by other forms of audio entertainment, satellite radio services, streaming and podcasting from station Web sites, customizable Internet radio sites such as Pandora, and huge, expandable personal music libraries contained on digital music players and smartphones.

Web Marketing

The rapid rise of the World Wide Web over the past fifteen years has had a huge impact on the field of marketing, both in terms of the opportunities that it offers, and the challenges it presents.

In terms of opportunity, the Internet has provided marketers with easy, inexpensive access to customers and potential customers from all over the world. Reaching these customers is also incredibly easy and cost-effective. It costs no more to send an email to an address in Perth, Australia, than it does to someone who lives down the street, and costs associated with printing or mailing are avoided.

In terms of challenges, the rise of the Internet has made the marketplace a lot more competitive. Because just about anyone has the ability to start a website or send out an email, the marketplace has opened up to businesses of all sizes. Customers are no longer limited by geography when it comes to searching for the products and service they need. It is now much easier to go comparison-shopping.

There are many ways for marketers to compete for attention and solicit new customers on the web.

Websites & Search Engine Optimization

Websites can perform a variety of marketing functions. Building and maintaining a professional-looking website can help to improve the public perception of a business. With the careful use of Search Engine Optimization terms, a business can ensure that search engines will frequently present its site to users who are searching for the products and services being offered.

The goal of Search Engine Optimization is to guide web users to a business' site by the thoughtful repetition and placement of key marketing phrases. The idea is to figure out what terms are most often searched for when it comes to the product that is offered, and then create text assets that contain these terms. Search engines such as Google, Chrome, Bing, and Yahoo have web crawling software programs that analyze websites based on this target content, and use this analysis to present results to web users who search for specific terms.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is something of an art as well as science. Using too many SEO phrases can work against a business, as many search engines will balk against sites that simply try to overwhelm their search functions with repetition. Not using enough SEO terms, however, could lead to a business being out positioned by a more aggressive competitor.

Search engines are also constantly upgrading and revising their analysis of web sites, so it is important to freshen and revise SEO content as the nature of a business — and the nature of its competition — changes.

E-Commerce

Many companies and individuals who have products to sell have set up electronic commerce (e-commerce) enabled websites, where customers can view products and place orders online. By making it possible for customers from all over the world to place orders in an instant, e-commerce-enabled websites have helped companies tap into an incredibly large pool of customers.

E-commerce websites can also help to cut down on other marketing costs. Instead of sending out thick, expensive catalogs that include every product a company has to offer, companies can instead send out a smaller, more specialized catalogs that cost less to produce, have a product selection that is carefully chosen to appeal to a certain market segment, and can direct readers to the website to find any other products that they need.

Email Marketing

Email marketing campaigns can be used to solicit new business and strengthen existing business relationships. Email marketing messages can take a variety of forms.

Email can be used to create direct response mailings that ask customers to click on a link for more information, or to sign up for a free trial of a product or service. They can be aggressive selling campaigns that alert customers to new products, seasonal trends, or clearance items. Also, email messages can simply promote a good image for a company by fostering interest in a particular subject. A company that is selling gardening supplies, for example, could send an email with several tips for springtime garden preparation.

Banner Ads

Banner ads can be thought of as the billboards of Internet marketing. Banner ads are paid space that companies purchase on other websites, usually websites that experience a high volume of user traffic. By placing an ad on an outside website, companies hope to draw customers to their own sites, usually by placing an active link on the advertisement itself.

Banner ads can be placed on sites that deal with topics related to the product or service that is being offering, or they can be placed on seemingly unrelated sites that may be appealing to the demographic they are trying to reach.

Promotions

Promotions are rebates, free giveaways, coupons, two-for-one deals and any other discounts and/or incentives that a company can offer to customers or potential customers to generate sales. The advantage of a promotion is that it is more likely to put a product in the hands of the customer. Promotions are also an excellent way to encourage a sale. Someone who may hesitate at buying a vacuum cleaner for $59.99, for example, might go for the deal if it also includes a free dry mop. Music companies regularly give away posters and other inexpensive items to customers who purchase a new music CD on its first day of release.

Another effective promotional method is to give away free samples of a product at places where members of the target audience are likely to visit. Health clubs regularly have samples of skin cream and shampoos in the bathrooms for members to test out when showering away from home.

The disadvantage of a promotional offer is that it often means that a company is not always operating on its ideal terms for business. Honoring a coupon means taking less than what the original asking price was, while giving away free samples also cuts into the bottom line. As with any marketing method, it is important to monitor the use of promotions and to gauge the effectiveness of each campaign before starting the next.

The spectacular rise and crash of Internet promotional service Groupon provides a cautionary tale for innovative marketing strategists. Groupon, one of the fastest growing Internet companies in the world, issued an IPO in 2011. Stock quickly tripled in value, then lost 90 percent of its value when legal troubles and the inherently flawed marketing strategy on which it was built became apparent. Groupon's daring innovation was to offer daily deals, which were 50 percent off the merchant's regular price, via email to subscribers. Merchants signed on in order to attract new business and subscribers were attracted by the deep discounts for quality products and services. The revenue model called for a merchant to offer a good for 50 percent off, then Groupon would claim 40 to 60 percent of the coupon price. The subscriber used the coupon promotional code to purchase a voucher for the good online. Legal issues arose when courts recognized the vouchers as gift certificates, which do not expire, which negatively affected Groupon and the merchant — both of which counted on a large percentage of daily deal vouchers to go unredeemed. Groupon was also challenged to continually replace the majority of merchants, who found the small amount of new business Groupon brought them did not outweigh the hassle and the lost profits that frequently resulted from the deal. Subscribers wearied of the daily emails and began filtering them as spam. Competitors also materialized, grasping the potential of Internet promotional deals but having learned from Groupon's mistakes. Fourteen months after going public, Groupon's founder was ousted, but the company continued to languish in search of improvements to its marketing methods.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships are a way to connect a business, service, or idea to a separate entity by entering into some kind of agreement with that entity; usually a financial one. Private companies often become the official sponsors of sporting events, concerts, road races, and charity events.

The advantage of a sponsorship is that it offers companies a chance to link themselves or their products to something that the members of their target audience already admire, or are likely to seek out. Sponsorships of this nature create a positive association in the mind of the customer, and reflect well on your business.

Sponsorships can also be expensive, however, and there is no guarantee that attaching a company's name to a separate entity will have a beneficial effect on the business.

Public Relations

Public Relations is the attempt to influence the public's perception of a product, service, or idea by working through public channels such as the media. Common public relations (or PR) tactics include preparing and issuing press releases and press kits, building personal relationships with media members, and organizing special events and celebrations that are designed to generate media coverage.

Public relations professionals can perform a variety of tasks for a company, individual or organization. By building relationships with members of the news media, they can help to generate positive free press for their clients' products, ideas, or services.

PR reps often invite members of the new media to grand opening celebrations or kickoff events, feting them with food and promotional materials as a way to encourage them to report back on events at the company. They also use their press contacts to arrange feature stories about their clients.

PR reps can also be a valuable resource when a company is facing negative publicity. If a chemical plant has an accidental spill, for example, a PR firm can help to control the negative publicity by issuing a carefully crafted and controlled statement to explain what happened and what the plant is planning to do about it. The PR firm can also help by developing a long term plan to restore the plant's public image, perhaps by contacting the press to talk about new safety features that have been implemented in the wake of the spill, or to bring attention to charitable donations the company has made.

The advantage of using public relations is that it is thought to produce a more convincing message than advertising. A news article about new safety features being implemented at the chemical plant in the wake of a spill would probably carry a lot more weight with the community than a paid advertisement would. The disadvantage to using public relations is that it is not always easy to control public perception. Media members could choose to ignore your spin on the story, or flat out refuse to give you any coverage at all.

Conclusion

There are a variety of marketing methods available to businesses, individuals, and organizations that are looking to sell or promote a product, service or idea to a wider audience. While the term "marketing method" can theoretically be applied to just about any action that is taken to promote or sell a product, there are a set of common marketing methods that typically comprise most marketing campaigns. These methods include direct marketing, database marketing, advertising, web marketing, promotions, sponsorship, and public relations. Each of these marketing methods has its own benefits and drawbacks, and no one method is superior to the rest by rule. The general rule of thumb when creating a marketing campaign is to select the method or methods that will allow you to deliver the most effective message to the largest portion of your target audience, while still remaining within your budgetary constraints.

Terms & Concepts

• Advertising: A method of marketing in which a company or individual pays to deliver a specific message using an outside medium, such as television, radio, newspapers or magazines.
• Banner Ads: Paid advertising space that companies purchase on websites other than their own.
• Database Marketing: Marketing directly to a defined group of individuals whose addresses and/or contact information have been accumulated in database form.
• Differentiating Quality (Qualities): The aspect or aspects of your product, service or idea that are unique, and thus worthy of your customers' specific attention and consideration.
• Direct Marketing: A marketing campaign that has a specific goal and seeks an immediate response from the customer.
• Market Segmentation: Dividing the market into smaller, more specialized categories based on a variety of factors, including customer buying habits.
• Promotions: Free samples, coupons, discounts and other offers that are used to generate sales.
• Search Engine Optimization: Guiding web users to a company's site by the thoughtful repetition and placement of key marketing phrases.
• Target Audience: A group of individuals identified as being the most important to reach with the message of a particular marketing campaign.

Bibliography

Bercovici, J. (2013). The woman(!) behind GoDaddy's tasteless, effective Super Bowl ads. Forbes.Com, 49. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=85366340&site=ehost-live

Bly, R. (1998). Business to business direct marketing: Proven direct response methods to generate more leads and sales. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books.

Jacobs, D. L. (2013). Firing CEO Andrew Mason won't end Groupon woes. Forbes.Com, 14. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=85869893&site=ehost-live

Kohl, S. (2000). Getting attention: Leading edge lessons for publicity and marketing. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Nash, E. (2000). Direct marketing: Strategy, planning, and execution. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Sheridan, S. (1999). Getting more business: Use proven marketing techniques and get business coming to you. Oxford : How To Books.

White, S. E. (1997). The complete idiot's guide to marketing basics. New York, NY: Alpha Books.

Wind, Y., Sharp, B., & Nelson-field, K. (2013). Empirical generalizations: new laws for digital marketing: How advertising research must change. Journal of Advertising Research, 53, 175-180. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=88284642&site=ehost-live ..FT.

Suggested Reading

Lerch, R. (2007). Key elements of a successful marketing plan. Home Business Magazine: The Home-Based Entrepreneur's Magazine, 14, 50. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=25396747&site=ehost-live

Petrecca, L. (2007, July 16). Marketers flex muscle at gyms. USA Today, 3b.

Strauss, S. D. (2007). A whole new radio world. Home Business Magazine: The Home-Based Entrepreneur's Magazine, 14, 44. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=25396745&site=ehost-live