You are the founder/owner of your small business/ start-up. You have come up with the idea for your product, you have spent time, money, effort in thinking of a name, how you want to sell, where you want to sell, how much you want to sell it for, whom you will sell it to, etc. etc. You are in control of the product, the sales efforts, follow-ups, suppliers and whatever else that is required to keep the business going. You are a one-man/one-woman show spending your time 24/7, being hands-on in everything. What possibly would a marketing person do in such a set-up? And also you may be concerned how much you will have to pay out to engage them.
This is the most common issue faced by many new enterprises that may have no bandwidth to take on new people. But before we look at whether a marketing person is required or not, let's look at the role of a marketing person. Here's a visual representation of the role of a marketing person:
1. Manage brand - sustain and grow: Brand management is a subject on its own, will write about it extensively. Simply put, it means increasing the value of the brand amongst various stakeholders. You would want your brand to be recognised widely and respected for what it offers to customers. Think of your favorite brand and why it is on top of your list. In today's world, where there are so many optoins for consumers, think of why they should buy your brand. A marketing person's role is to find that unique proposition and make the brand stand out so that a customer chooses your brand again and again despite having so much choice.
2. Developing and executing promotional activities - A marketing person handles activities that promote the brand - company brand or product brand. It could be consumer offers or trade promotions or on-ground activities all aimed at making the brand more visible for improving sales.
3. Aid distribution - the marketing manager works with the sales team to ensure that products are placed on the right shelves for consumers to pick up easily. Think of kirana shops, large retail stores, exclusive stores, etc. Where do you want to make the product available? Who is the customer and where does she live and shop?
4. Target the right customer - the whole world is not your customer. You won't have the time/effort/money to chase everyone. Imagine if you are a baby products manufacturer, would you go after young, unmarried man with your messages? The role of the marketing manager is to find that right customer and send the marketing messages to her. This leads to less wastage of precious resources.
5. Generate leads - the marketing manager creates awareness for the products/services, evaluates media channels to be present on, create content, advertise, have marketing campaigns, engage on social media,etc. with the end goal of ensuring there is a list of potential buyers or a pipeline whom the sales people can follow up on.
6. Aid new product development - this is a key responsibility. Think of coming up with new product ideas, working with R&D, developing the right packaging, giving it a name, logo, launch campaign, planning how to go into market, etc. The marketing manager is hands-on on these responsibilities.
7. Research - another big responsibility as it means that one should know what is happening in the business environment - be it competitors, consumers, industry, trends, etc. One has to pore over data and be able to filter out what's important for the business.
8. Boost sales and income streams - all activities have to finally result in increasing revenues for the company. This is a key metric to analyse whether the activities undertaken have lead to an increase in sales.
What kind of skills or competencies should a marketing manager have?
1. Communication skills
2. Analytical skills
3. Long term planning
4. Project management
5. Ability to lead and work with teams
6. Creativity
7. Problem Solving
8. Well versed with digital/social media
When should you, as a start-up, hire a marketing manager?
a. If you have a working product
b. When you have decided that your organisation should grow beyond just your efforts
c. When you are planning to expand into different cities or across different channels
d. When you want to focus more on sales and raising funds
If you are not ready for a full-time hire, you can consider hiring free-lancers or agencies.
Need to remember that despite all your efforts to drive your enterprise, if you remain unknown or just limited to family/friends, nobody is understanding the value that you are bringing through your products/services, if you don't know where your next sale is going to come from, it is not possible to grow.
Need help? Reach out to me at hustellebyanupama@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment