Marketing is the science of connecting people’s needs to in-market solutions. In most cases, marketing output is measured in sales—whether it is a monetary transaction that occurs when a consumer buys something, a donation that occurs when someone donates to a charity, or even trust when a politician is able to persuade voters to vote for him.

This article summarizes, in a practical way, what marketing is and how you should think about it if you expect to gain some value beyond the theoretical understanding of it – which might be valuable, of course, but isn’t the focus here.

1. The Audience

The audience is the most valuable asset of a marketer since it’s where the output (whatever you define by it) comes from. So, to excel in any marketing effort, you must truly and deeply understand your audience: their needs, expectations, objections, and behaviors. The better you understand your audience, the better you’ll be able to serve them, and the higher your chances of success. Trying to sell something to an audience with a random strategy may work if you’re lucky and your product is truly unique and compelling, but it will hardly be scalable, and truth is: it’s rarely the case.

There are hundreds of methodologies out there teaching you how to get to know your audience, but they’ll all end up adopting those three steps:

1. Conduct thorough research (surveys, interviews, focus groups).
2. Analyze data (demographics, psychographics, behavior patterns).
3. Create detailed buyer personas 

An important consideration about buyer personas is that they are not the same thing as your audience.

Buyer personas are a limited representation of someone within your audience. They are extremely helpful in tailoring your messaging and brand positioning, but they aren’t enough to determine your channels.

2. The Channels

As the term suggests, a “channel” is a medium through which your message will be spread, and hopefully, your customers will come. Every day new channels are born (especially on the Internet), and they change all the time, so discussing the pros and cons of each available channel is, honestly, a waste of time. 

However, the best way to choose which channels to explore is to start from your audience  different conscious levels.

1. Conscious of the Problem AND the Solution (High Intent): These are often the easiest to convert because they’re already primed. For example, someone is looking to buy a new smartphone because their current one is outdated.
2. Conscious of the Problem, but Not the Solution (Medium Intent): This group knows they have a problem but needs guidance on how to solve it. For example, someone who feels stressed but doesn’t know about stress management techniques.
3. Unconscious of the Problem and the Solution (Low Intent): This group needs education on both fronts. For instance, someone who is unaware of the health benefits of a balanced diet.

You should always start with the first conscious level (A) because it’s the easiest one. Since your audience is aware of the problem AND the solution, all you need to do is to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right message. For instance, if your audience consists of men looking for a screwdriver, you can simply place an ad on Google for everyone searching for a screwdriver. If your price and product look right, you’ll be able to sell screwdrivers. 

Wait, but if it’s the easiest one, why would anyone want to explore the other two conscious levels? 

Since it’s the easiest conscious level, it’s also the most competitive one, and competition usually means higher CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), which means lower margins, which may result in an unprofitable business model.

People who are aware of the problem but not aware of the solution are easily compelled to get to know your offer, and since they haven’t considered any solution, your chances of converting them into customers are much higher due to the low competition. For instance, you may work with beauty influencers to promote your innovative skin care solution to their Instagram followers. Since they are probably aware of their skin issues but not aware of your unique product to address those issues, you have a good chance of succeeding. 

On the other hand, if they are aware of their skin issues and have considered solutions like yours, your chances of being chosen are very low unless you have a very unique product and/or offer. 

Most businesses will be able to grow and be sustainable by exploring the first and second categories. Ok, but what about the third conscious level?

Realistically speaking, the last category (not being aware of the problem nor the solution) is a concern that will only bother huge organizations that have scaled so much that they ended up maxing out the possibilities of the first two conscious levels and now need to create new markets to keep their growth. In other words, just don’t worry about it before you’re one of the top three players in any niche in terms of market share.

3. The Message

Now you better know your target audience and in which conscious stage you want to find them (and, therefore, which channels you want to explore) it’s time to carefully define your message. As is the case with audiences, there are hundreds of frameworks out there teaching people how to come up with the best message possible. The one I most find insightful and helpful is BrandScript, a storytelling-based framework developed by Donald Miller. 

Basically, it forces you to position your brand as the guide that will help you, the hero (your customer), through the journey of understanding a problem, meeting a guide, following a plan, and achieving the transformation they expected. 

The questions of the BrandScript framework are:

1. What transformation are they looking for?
2. How can we help them go through? 
3. What are their current pains? 
4. How can we be empathetic about them?
5. What are their current objections? And how can we break them?
6. What’s our call-to-action to them?
7. What does success look like for our audience?

As an outcome, after going through the framework, you should have concise material that guides the craft of your marketing messages.

4. The Plan

If you went through the past steps of getting to know your audience, choosing your channels, and your messaging strategy, you have everything you need to create a marketing plan, meaning a list of things you need to do in order to execute.

I personally like to divide the actions of my marketing plans into three categories, each one serving a very unique and important objective. 

• Reach (How are you reaching your audience?) The answer to this question lies in the channels you choose to explore based on your audience’s conscious level. Some examples are Google Search Ads, TV, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Affiliate Marketing, Referral Marketing, In-Person Events, Social Media Ads, E-mail Marketing, Outbound Marketing and Influencers.
• Conversion (How are you converting this audience into customers?) Choose your offer to convert this audience into customers, or at least potential customers. Some examples are Inbound Marketing, Trials or Freemium (in case you’re offering an app or SaaS), Inside Sales, and Direct Marketing.
• Retention (How are you encouraging your customers to buy more?) The more you sell to existing customers, the higher your return on investment. Some examples of tactics to increase your retention are retargeting Ads, E-mail Marketing, SMS, Phone Call, and Push Notifications. 

What’s next?

Of course, although you need an initial plan, it will hardly be your most successful one. Marketing is a process, and the more you optimize it, the better it gets. Here are the next steps I suggest if you want to put what you’ve learned into action.

• Implement the Plan: Put your tactics into action as outlined in your strategy.
• Analyze and Optimize: Review performance metrics such as CAC (Client Cost Acquisition) and ROI (Return Over Investment) regularly and make adjustments as needed. Weekly check-ins help you stay agile. This iterative approach helps ensure that your marketing efforts remain relevant and effective over time.
• Review and Set Goals: Quarterly reviews allow for broader strategic adjustments and realignment. Remember: Marketing is indeed a continuous process of learning and adapting. Stay updated on trends, listen to feedback, and be prepared to pivot as needed. 

Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out via Linkedin.