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We All Scream For Ice Cream - Marketing Mix

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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None-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/ . Make your own animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you to develop cool animated clips and animated presentations for your website, office meeting, sales pitch, nonprofit fundraiser, product launch, video resume, or anything else you could use an animated explainer video.

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This is a sort-of in depth video about the 7 Marketing Functions, and the 5 Marketing Utilities. I'll explain the core and main things you need to know, and give a small example. This video was created for a project at school, and I thought a YouTube video would be pretty impressive.

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Hero Creator 1 - 12 Comics Learning Support Program

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12 Comics Hero Creator and character generator. Students create their superhero character visuals using a character generator.

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Marketing Essentials - 7 Core Functions of Marketing Flashcards | Quizlet

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Start studying Marketing Essentials - 7 Core Functions of Marketing. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

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. / Credit: Marketing Image via

Shutterstock

Every business needs marketing, and it's almost always the last thing to get done.

In my last Op-Ed, I defined marketing as who, what, where, when, why and how your organization interacts with others in order to meet your business goals. It's part of what I call the Do-it-Yourself Under-Complicated Marketing Plan. I recommended you start by setting some of what I categorize as "SMART" goals. For the next step, it's important to define the "who."

No, your target is not 'everyone'

Think about the sneaker business. It's a pretty wide market. Practically everyone needs a pair, right? But the most successful sneaker companies know better. They focus on very specific targets.

Take a look at Nike's website. It's all about fitness, sports and winning. Converse, on the other hand, is about making a personal identity statement. Their Google ad says, "Shoes are Boring. Sneakers are Iconic." Who would have thought they'd make Chuck Taylor All Stars with a studded collar? Even if nearly everyone needs sneakers, these companies help us know exactly which sneaker fits our personal needs, whether we are uber-competitive or ultrafashionable.

Target even more than big-budget players like Nike

No matter what product you sell or service you deliver, more targeted marketing gives you a better return. Targeting a specific audience gets you in front of them more often, with messages that touch them emotionally. If you try to be everything to everyone, your message becomes vague and less impactful. Branding expert Todd Friedman writes:

"The more you can define not only the demographics - like age, gender and household income - but also the type of person (psychographics), including attitudes, tendencies, and preferences, the more you can directly speak to your audience. Owning a specific market's mind share is the key."

But who is your 'ideal' customer?

Here are two methods to identify your target.

First, create a fictional buyer whose needs your product meets perfectly.

In the last 10 years, it has been trendy to create "buyer personas." A buyer persona is a character who represents your target customer or client. Creating a fictional person named Suzie or Sammy with specific wants, needs and desires makes it easier to design marketing campaigns these ideal customers will respond to. They're typically created using a great deal of research and data about current customers. Some find this process valuable. But it costs time and money, which you may not have.

Second, think about your best clients, most profitable customers or most reliable donors.

Ask yourself:

Who has bought before and returned to buy again?

Which client has been the most profitable or referred their friends?

Which donor has given when you really needed them and brought others to the table?

Now look at these people and figure out who they are, so you can find more like them.

Are they male or female? How old? Married or single?

How educated are they? What do they do for a living?

What's their outlook on life - are they optimistic? Realistic?

Where do they get their news? What do they do for fun? What do they care about?

Why do they do business with you? How would they describe your company?

Janet Kyle Altman is the marketing partner at the accounting firm Kaufman, Rossin & Co.

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To Market Successfully, Your Customer Can't Be 'Everyone' (Op-Ed)

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Every business needs marketing, and it's almost always the last thing to get done. In my last Op-Ed, I defined marketing as who, what, where, when, why and how your organization interacts with others in order to meet your business goals. It's part of what I call the Do-it-Yourself Under-Complicated Marketing Plan.

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Take the US VALS™ Survey! Find the link below.

To Take the Survey:

Click "Take The Survey" below (it will open in a separate browser window).

Answer the questions. No answers are right or wrong; just select the answers that best describe you.

Click "Submit" at the bottom of the survey page to view your VALS types-the type that you are most like and the type that you are second-most like.

We will not e-mail survey results to you.

VALS Type Accuracy

By design, the questions are for use by people whose first language is American English. If you are not a citizen of the United States or Canada, residency should be for enough time to know the culture and its idioms.

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About the US VALS™ Survey

The purpose of the US VALS™ survey is to identify the VALS type of the person taking the survey. That's it. To find out about a person's product ownership, media preferences, hobbies, additional demographics, or attitudes (for example, about global warming), the questions in the VALS survey integrate into larger questionnaires that ask about these topics. For example, the VALS questions integrate into GfK MRI's nationally syndicated Survey of the American Consumer, which enables us to see the media preferences of each of the eight VALS types. The VALS questions also integrate into our own Consumer Financial Decisions' MacroMonitor survey, giving us in-depth information about how each VALS type uses, invests, and saves money.

So go ahead. Take the VALS Survey and find out your own VALS type.

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Take the US VALS™ Survey! Find the link below. Click "Take The Survey" below (it will open in a separate browser window). Answer the questions. No answers are right or wrong; just select the answers that best describe you.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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The learner will understand the functions of marketing and foundational marketing concepts.

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The learner will understand the functions of marketing and foundational marketing concepts.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Unit 1 The Foundations of Marketing Objectives:

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Unit 1 The Foundations of Marketing Objectives:

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1. Comprehension of  the marketing concept by describing how consumer needs and wants are met.

2. Comprehension of the marketing core functions by completing a classroom jigsaw activity.

3. Analysis of target markets by reading The Crowded, Caffeinated Soft Drink Sector and describing how marketers use knowledge of a market to sell products.

4. Synthesis of market segmentation by developing a target market using demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral segmentation.

5. Synthesis of the 4Ps: product, place, price, and promotion by developing a marketing mix for a product.