What are the basics of marketing?

If you are a business owner then it is crucial that you understand just how important marketing is to your business. If you fail to market or market ineffectively then the chances are high that you will soon be closing your doors and taking down your website. This makes it critical that every business owner learn all he or she can about marketing and how to market their business. The good news is that by learning the basics of marketing you can begin to formulate a marketing plan that can help your business travel the road to long term success. Here is what you need to know to answer the questions-What are the basics of marketing?

- Know who to market to-The key to successful marketing is to know who you need to market to. Many new business owners assume that because they have such a great product or service that everyone will want to buy it. This is simply not realistic. The reality is that there will be a certain segment of the population who will be more inclined to buy your product or service. These are the people that you need to find. However, it is not enough to just determine who you need to market to. You will need to find out everything about your target market. This will include but is not limited to: ages, gender, income level, shopping habits, and lifestyle choices. Once you know everything you can about your target market then you will be ready to move forward with your marketing plan.
- Keep it simple-Many new business owners' fall into the trap of making their marketing too complicated. They think that if their business marketing is complex then it is more sophisticated. The truth is that if your marketing is to complicated it will just be confusing and frustrating to your target market. You want to make sure that every type of marketing that you do is clear and concise. The object of your marketing is to let your customer know everything about your business and what you can offer them. Make sure that you provide several different ways that your customers can get in touch with you. Whether you send something out or post something on your website keep in mind that you only have a few minutes to attract and keep the attention of your customers so your marketing will need to be simple, straightforward, and get right to the point of informing your customer.
- Have a great website-One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to market to your customers is by having a great website. However, even today with the popularity of marketing online many business owners still resist this marketing idea. It is crucial to keep in mind that today's consumers are highly tech savvy. This means that they will most likely research online before making a final purchase decision. The bottom line is that if your business is not represented online then chances are you will be overlooked by the very people that you are hooping to attract. If you don't have an online presence then it is critical to get one today. However, it should be stressed that just any old website will not be enough. You will need to make sure that your website stands out from the crowd and can attract and keep the attention of your website visitors. It will also be critical to make sure that your website is very user friendly. If it takes more then two clicks to get anywhere in your website then it is to complicated and should be redesigned.