You can create the best product or service in your industry, but unless you effectively make the consumer know about it, it won’t sell. That’s where marketing comes in. And since every competing business is doing all they can to rank at the top of Google’s first search engine results page (SERP), you have to be on top of your marketing game to beat them. That’s why you need all the marketing knowledge you can get.
There are a whole lot of things you can do to improve your marketing knowledge. Here are four of the best.
1. Take a marketing class
Today you can take marketing courses both offline and online – but I’d recommend the latter. This is because online marketing classes, like any internet-based studies, allow you the flexibility to run your business or continue your day job while taking your classes. Consider it the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone (the stone being your time).
Marketing classes provide you with the formal marketing knowledge that is imperative for successful interfacing with customers. You could specialize is any area of marketing such as brand management, executive-level marketing or integrated sales and marketing – or an amalgam of these. Whatever you choose will give you the grounding you need to make successful inroads into the world of marketing.
2. Read a book or more about marketing
There are lots of books, eBooks and audiobooks with rich marketing content. Thanks to the World Wide Web, a good number of these are now available online – even for free. The beautiful thing is, most books of marketing are loaded with case studies that you can learn from. They also typically contain actionable tips that can give you a good head start.
In essence, both the classics such as Marketing 101 books and newer ones have something to add to your marketing acumen – so it is best not to ignore either category.
3. Talk to fellow marketers
When two or more minds come together to share, there’s learning taking place. You can learn so much from someone who, like you, practices marketing. Start a casual talk and slowly learn what they do, and how they do it. Ask them what their thoughts are about certain things related to the industry; this approach can give you a ton of new insights. To meet such people, consider attending industry events such as conferences and organized talks.
4. Keep up with industry trends
Read blogs, follow the news; just make sure you are up to date with what’s happening in your industry. That way you’ll know what the latest customer preferences are or when Google makes a significant update that impacts your marketing strategy.
Even better, consider identifying a few leading brands and start following their marketing practices keenly. You can learn a lot from what they are doing and be able to pick something or two from their methods.
Final thoughts
Marketing is dynamic. Sometimes all you need is to pay attention to your environment. The best secret to being the best is to always keep learning, and there will be nothing to stand on your way.
Image: TeroVesalainen