Marketing and advertising, while they sound similar, are actually not. Advertising is just one part of a larger game called marketing. Marketing includes the entire concept of a brand from research to design, advertising and sales. On the other hand, advertising is a component of the marketing process which is nothing more than delivering the message through a variety of media to promote the product.
Advertising is one of the most important and also the most expensive parts of a marketing strategy. Advertising means sending a message about your company, product or service to the public. It also works behind the scenes as a process to devise different strategies and find the right one to attract the viewers. The strategy is to plan things like placement of ads, which media to use, when, frequency, etc. Advertisements are usually delivered through media such as television, mail, newspapers, internet, e-mail, radio, magazines, mobile messages, flyers, billboards, etc. The most popular is, of course, television, although online advertising is also growing in popularity.
The easiest way to differentiate advertising from marketing is to think of marketing as the pie, and if you cut the cake, then advertising as part of that pie. The other pieces of the pie are product market research, product design, media planning, public relations, product pricing, customer satisfaction, customer service, sales, and more. All of these ingredients or pieces of the pie must work independently but together to achieve the larger goal of selling products and building the company's reputation in the marketplace. Marketing is a marathon process involving many tasks that require hours, sometimes days, of research. The research part of marketing is the longest because it involves a comprehensive understanding of how people act towards the product. Product design and advertising strategy development is also a time-consuming process. Only the components that take less time show ads and sales. Marketing can also be seen as a mediator between consumers and businesses.
But many companies often make the mistake of confusing advertising with marketing. They try to imitate big companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi in their advertising, but they ignore the work behind them. The classic example of this is the logo case, for example. Many business owners are so hysterical about their company logo in their ads that they think it will only increase sales. But what makes a logo work is nothing but the company's reputation and the logo must have a feel and truly reflect the company's values. It should also be remembered that these companies spend fortunes on advertising, which a new company cannot do. Instead of spending money unnecessarily on branding your product, invest money and time in letting consumers know that you can meet their expectations. After building a good reputation and growing a great company, one can consider these luxury ideas. Educating consumers also helps because it shows them that you know what you do and that you are the best at it.
Smart sellers tend to be aggressive rather than passive. They tease the readers by asking them to do something instead of just telling them the product. Smart sellers also bring in the names, addresses, and phone numbers of people who are genuinely interested in pitching their business through aggressive marketing. Therefore, a good marketing campaign says a lot about the company and its products, and advertising puts the final touch on the hard work that marketers put in to sell a product.
