Opinion: What is Marketing?

This piece first appeared in the May edition of BikeBiz magazine – not subscribed? Get a free subscription.

Mark Almond from Red Cloud Marketing explores marketing and why understanding your customer is key.

Marketing. 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 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 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 you like them using them or not. I have no idea why I picked on bar ends, but you get the idea!

Profitably. The final word in that definition but the one that we all need to achieve to stay in business! By adopting the first two principles, this final one becomes a little more achievable. Sure, good purchasing and tight cost control are still key of course (remember, your suppliers should be satisfying your needs as a customer too!) but an engaged, interactive and involved customer base will make loyalty and repeat purchases so much easier to attain and it makes your life a bit more fun as well! Customer retention is much cheaper and healthier than finding new ones. You may find that understanding your customers, stocking what they truly want and speaking the language they want to hear will result in higher value orders whenever they pop by, too.

With regards to profit, I should perhaps address the elephant in the room. The cost of marketing is not as high as you may think. In fact, done correctly, it makes you money. I know I’m biased, but until you start spending on events, advertising, and other paid-for activities, the actual cost of marketing can be very little. Remember, marketing is a process, not an activity, and as such, you control that process the same as with any other business function.

So, as a marketer, I hope that I understand my customer and right now that’s you. You’re reading this in your own time and by choice (I hope), and I need to cut to the chase. 

Tips and ideas for understanding your customer in 100 words or less:

• Two-way communication. Listen first, speak last. Get to know them and what they’re looking for. What bikes do they ride? How do they ride? Why do they ride? How much do they spend? Who are they?
• Introduce customer care initiatives such as loyalty programmes and make it known what your duty of care is at all times.  Make it a way of life in your work environment.
• Introduce customer feedback and social evenings/rides. Welcome all feedback and extra chances to chat with your customers – no hard sell, just listen and pave the way to a sale.

That was 97 words, so there you go, a marketer that comes in under budget. We do exist.

Once you have a marketing management process in place, then it’s time to look at how else marketing can help your business grow, but as with everything in life, you need a foundation on which to build. The greatest bike in the world will not go anywhere if you forget to fit the wheels.

Mark Almond is the owner of Red Cloud Marketing and a freelance Marketing Consultant to the international bike industry.