Why Is Marketing So Important For E-Commerce Businesses?
Marketing is the process by which organizations make their products known to the consumer population. Marketing is nothing but the act of bringing together customers and sellers for the purpose of sales. Marketing involves the use of various media to communicate with customers and potential customers. Marketing is an important element of business as it determines the success of a business. The marketing professionals are those who understand the importance of marketing to organizations.
Marketing is generally understood to be the process whereby a firm develops and implements an effective strategy to sell its products or services. Marketing therefore, relates to the process a firm undertakes to advertise the sale or purchase of a particular product, service, or even good to the consuming public. Marketing can be of different types like brand, relationship marketing, mass marketing, personal branding, and channel marketing. Brand marketing is one form of marketing that seeks to create a feeling of loyalty among the consumers towards a particular firm. It uses the symbol of the brand or name of the firm and the associated symbol or brand name. In relationship marketing, on the other hand, involves developing a long term business relationship with the consumer.
Mass marketing is a type of marketing in which the marketing approach is to gather as many customers as possible and persuade them to make purchases of a given product or service. In this process, the intention is to create a “buzz” about the brand or name of the firm and make the customer feel that he has a great need and requirement to have such and like product or service. Personal branding is another approach that is often adopted to create a feeling of loyalty among customers. It involves advertising personal items like sunglasses or clothing through various channels, such as televisions and billboards, thereby creating a sense of feeling attached to the consumer.
One of the important components of the marketing concept is the development of a strategy that is aligned with customer needs. There are various strategies used for the same purpose and hence a marketer decides upon the one best suited to his needs. One of the popular marketing strategies is to develop a social consciousness about the firm, its products and services through various channels and thereby reaching out to the targeted audience. Advertising through various media platforms like television, internet, etc., creates awareness about the brand or company.
The complete marketing strategy depends upon a comprehensive understanding of the customer requirements. A marketer first establishes the need for the company and the kind of products or services that the company provides. This enables the marketer to plan the strategy to meet the customers’ specific demands. For instance, in the case of a restaurant, the food and beverage requirements are very different from the electrical appliances. Thus, the marketing strategy has to be customized according to the specific needs of the customer.
The importance of marketing is discussed above. However, it is equally important to understand the risks associated with it. Once a brand or company gets customer base, it becomes very difficult to dislodge the customer from your product line. Hence, a strong communication and customer care system are crucial to attract and retain the customers. It is worth mentioning here that a strong marketing strategy is needed to keep up a constant level of competition among the competitors. Further, if a firm wants to create a long term customer base, it is important to create new products, which can keep improving the quality of the brand.
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