OPINION
WHAT IS MARKETING? M
Mark Almond from Red Cloud Marketing explores marketing and why understanding your customer is key.
arketing. It’s a word that is often both misunderstood and misrepresented.
Having worked in various marketing roles for over 25 years and, since 2007, with bike industry companies from around the world, it has never ceased to amaze me how little some people understand about marketing. To some, it is promotion or telling people about products or services. To others, it is advertising, events and email lists, and whilst these are indeed all elements of the work carried out by marketers, it is not what marketing is at its core. Now, please forgive me. This is as ‘classroom-
like’ as I intend to be, but marketing is defined (by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, no less) as ‘the management process responsible for anticipating, identifying and satisfying customer requirements profitably’. No mention of advertising, BOGOF deals or pushing slow-moving stock there! Instead, the key words are perhaps ‘management process,’ ‘satisfying customer needs,’ and ‘profitably.’ These are all very pertinent for bike retailers in our current torrid and competitive marketplace. Let me explain. It starts with the company leadership and your customers. The company needs customers, but customers might not need your company – they have options. Businesses that adopt this marketing approach and put their customer needs first will find loyalty and thrive, whereas those who simply try to persuade customers to buy whatever they want to sell may not. This is where ‘management process’ comes into that definition. It
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has to be apparent throughout the company to truly succeed, and it is management’s responsibility to ensure this happens. It’s how your company looks, how it talks, how it approaches and interacts with customers and how it meets their needs. It’s a working culture in many respects, with customer service at its heart. Now let’s talk about ‘satisfying
customer needs’ and look at it from your perspective. You might work in a bike shop or for a distributor, but you are also a customer. Do you
like being told what to buy? Chances are, no, you don’t – neither do I. We all have personal needs and perspectives. If a company
wants to interact and have a relationship with the end goal of me spending money with them, then they need to be showing me the products and the customer service I want to buy and receive. Sounds obvious? It is, but it is all too easily missed. That special deal from a supplier is tempting, right? Not if your customer doesn’t really want it, and you then have to persuade them to buy it. Truly understanding your customer, listening
TO ME, MARKETING EXEMPLIFIES THAT OLD SAYING, ‘WE HAVE TWO EARS AND ONE MOUTH, SO USE THEM WISELY’
to them, engaging with them and finding out what motivates them will create loyalty. This is true whether your customer is a member of the public or another company; discovering and satisfying your customer’s needs makes your path to sales so much easier. To me, marketing exemplifies that old
saying, ‘we have two ears and one mouth, so use them wisely’. If you listen to what the market tells you first, communicating the solution becomes very simple. If they want bar ends, stock bar ends, whether
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