03/13/2024
THE FACADES OF MARKETING
By Susan Shipp of Shipp Shape Promotions
A marketing agent can be presented in various forms that you may not even realize falls under the marketing realm. It is important for a business owner to know the difference between each role as is the importance of each. Here, I will help decipher the marketing mysteries for you in simple terms:
The most common misconception about marketing is that all marketers are sitting on a phone making cold calls to potential customers, trying to get them to purchase something. This form of marketing is specifically called TELEMARKETING. Telemarketers often give hard-working marketers in other areas a bad reputation, but they are simply doing the job given to them and, for some companies, it is what works best.
What most aspiring business owners see as a typical Marketing Rep is a very specialized marketing person who represents a specific product or service, more commonly referred to as a SALESPERSON. Unfortunately, too many business fail in their thinking that sales division is the only area responsible for converting leads into profits or even generating the leads in the first place. When a company relies solely on one avenue to produce results, the business will surely fail.
For example, if an advertising agent (ie media sales person) comes to a business and the business decides to purchase ad spots for their business with the agent, it is the responsibility of the agent to assist the business owner in creating a promotion that will draw exposure to and create creditability for the company that can be produced by their creative team.
However, businesses often have their own in-house marketing teams that will produce the ad spots which coincide with their branding and/or current marketing plans/promotions. In which case, the owner is assuming responsibility for having done the research and and decided upon a strategy that they feels works best.
This type of placement of an ad then relies heavily on the ad itself, coupled with the represented media's market to obtain exposure. Too many times, a business owner will expect advertising to automatically produce sales, but that is simply not the job of advertising.
The job of advertising is to produce exposure which creates interest. Interest can then produce phone calls, emails, and/or visits to inquire about goods and/or services offered by the business. There are then a number of factors that can cause the inquiry to turn into profit. Some of those factors could be Customer Service, ability to contact, location, cost, closing agent, profit margin, selection, association, cleanliness, organization, quality, availability, performance, and the list can go on. All of these factors fall on the responsibility of the business itself...and can serve as additional marketing agents.
Whether the business has a team or the sales person compiles the information for promotion, the next step would be creative. Some business have their own in-house creative team, some sub-contract through marketing agencies and others utilize the salesperson's creative team. Either way, creatives are responsible for how the promotion is presented to the human senses.
CREATIVES cover a vast majority of marketing agents. These can serve in various capacities like Social Media Managers, Website builders, Graphic Designers, Production Agents, Content Writers, or other such marketing personnel. Thee are the people who produce those catchy tunes, the vibrant ads, and catch phrases we all come to love.
The ad can be well produced, pleasing to the human sensory, appealing to the audience and performed it's job perfectly, producing a plethora of interest and still not produce profit. Advertising requires further support from all of those factors mentioned earlier. For instance: Let's say you buy Commercial Spot on a National Television station that gains great exposure in the perfect audience which begins to produce numerous inquiries. However, the business decided to use "Star Power" to produce the ad by hiring a well known actor to represent them in a commercial for insurance. Two weeks after the commercial started playing, said actor was arrested for insurance fraud. The business began being questioned for their ethics and lost a lot of credibility. They saw a huge financial downturn.
In this example, the advertising reached the audience desired. It gained interest. It produced results. This is the job of advertising. Perhaps a little more research might have given some exposure to an ongoing investigation or using a non-recognizable figure might have been more effective. But, the company got a return on their investment with the advertising, although it be negative. Perfect example of how those small factors can have big consequences.
Anytime something like the above example happens, the company usually require a good Public Relations person or team to assist with cleaning up their image. PUBLIC RELATIONS agents protect the images of organizations. They work to influence public opinion so that their client is viewed favorably by the general public. Many do not realize that a Public Relations person, also commonly referred to as a Public Affairs, Press Officer, or even a Publicist, is actually a marketing representative.
COMMUNITY LIASIONS are another image specialist. Community Liaisons are really a cross between sales agent and Public Relations. Such individuals have a goal of representing an organization in social settings, which is somewhat assisting the PR department in promoting an image and obtaining feedback that may need addressed but they also do such with a goal of increasing the credibility and exposure of the organization which serves as a sales mechanism. They be account managers that have duties to serve in social settings as part of their job requirement. Others may see Community Liaisons as socialites who just like to attend events, when really they are getting paid to push the good of the company.
Earlier, I mentioned that perhaps some research could have been done prior to hiring the actor to make certain the actor was a good fit to represent the organization. This type of research could have been done by types of branding agents. BRANDING AGENTS specifically take a deep, analytical approach to developing, voice, visuals, messaging, positioning, and helping brands communicate their values and vision so they can use them to establish relationships with the people they cater to. Your MARKETING RESEARCH agents often fall into the branding agent category since they are usually analytical in process.
There are other names for types of positions that could fall under various marketing titles, but, generally, these would cover them. You see, Marketing is not a one person job. It usually takes a team and everyone plays a crucial role.
Sometimes a business calls for one thing ie: social media management, web site building, or to purchase and ad with a Media Agent. They then tend to call that same person for other marketing related questions. If you are fortunate, If you are you will find a person that offers a marketing boutique. This is a person or agency which can extend multiple marketing services at one location or with one person. However, keep in mind that they typically charge for the additional services.
Obtaining a person who wears many hats or an agency that offers numerous outlets is sort of like calling a plumber to repair a clogged toilet, but while he is there, you ask about getting a new sink installed and perhaps hiring the company to assist with adding the plumbing to a new washroom. The plumber will end up charging for all three services. A marketing company will often charge for their time and services that are outside of the normal scope as well. As a business owner, you should be aware of the benefits to having multiple marketing services available to you and respect the fact that each is of value.
- Susan Shipp is the owner and operator of Shipp Shape Promotions. She is a local marketing specialist in North Central Florida who has over 30 years of experience. She offers a boutique of services to her clients.
