5 Simple Rules Of Marketing, Whatever The Technology

The Internet has made it much easier for businesses to communicate with potential customers and clients, which in turn has made marketing much easier for anyone who wants to get involved in it.

But with all this new technology at our disposal, aspiring marketers have lost sight of the basics.

The art of marketing has not changed over the years. It all comes down to the interaction between two parties that want to do business with one another.

Technology has progressed so dramatically in the last two decades that it has revolutionized how everyone does business. Electronic transmissions can get the job done to a certain extent; however, they remain one of the most impersonal methods of communication. Marketers have to develop a dedication to the entities they’re trying to reach and avoid treating them like drops in a proverbial bucket.

Admittedly, the rules that follow are very simple in nature, hence the title. I purposely wrote these not in great detail but rather at a high level as to not to over-complicate things — something we humans tend to do far too often. So, here are some very basic, simple rules of marketing which I think we can ALL benefit from.

Rule #1: Make Yourself Known

People are only going to do business with people they trust. For that reason, any business that is trying to market itself to the public needs to make itself known. The marketer will have to present the business’ most genuine side in an effort to find a common ground with their audience.

The individuals that are being marketed to will not need to know everything about the business — they will need to know enough to determine whether it can be trusted.

Rule #2: Taking The Competition Seriously

It’s tempting for a marketer to believe that their product or service is the best in the world. The reality of the situation is that the public has many different options for the same product.

Your customers have the option to go wherever they want — and as a marketer, you must respect their freedom. The competition has to be taken seriously, and the marketer must always make an effort to stand out.

Rule #3: Relate To Your Audience

Not everyone will have the same level of expertise as you. To overcome this obstacle, the marketer needs to find a way to get their message across to people of any experience level. This means that all forms of jargon should be eliminated.

All marketing messages should be presented in a language that’s universally understandable. Catering to one segment of an audience will limit the marketer’s chance to turn their product or service into a success.

Rule #4: Progress At The Speed Of The Audience

Since the professional life of the marketer is so fast moving, they tend to apply this hectic way of doing business to their interactions with their audience. It’s crucial for the marketer to understand the speed of their audience and operate at that level. Moving too quickly through the process has the potential to be off-putting.

The relationships that businesses have with their clients are more important than anything else. They have to be maintained at all costs.

Rule #5: Making Your Customers Happy

We have all heard the old saying, “The customer is always right.” Some marketers write off this concept, but that’s the worst possible thing to do. The marketer must strive to exceed the expectations of their audience at all times.

You need to make your customers so happy that they will stay loyal — and ideally, spread the word about your business’ excellence.

Final Thoughts

These 5 simple rules of marketing are exactly that: simple. Keeping these simple, clear guidelines in mind will save you hours and hours of trial and error.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Steve Olenski

Steve Olenski is truly a unicorn. He has real world experience having worked at such companies as Prudential, Marsh & McLennan to his current role at Oracle. He's also held roles as creative director and senior copywriter at various agencies. In addition to all that, Steve has established himself as one of the most influential writers in the space earning the respect of many CMOs including the former CMO of Walmart who refers to Steve as “The CMO Whisperer" and the CMO of Cadillac who calls his column a "must read." In addition to Marketing Land, Steve has written for Advertising Age, Adweek, Business Insider, Forbes and MediaPost.