Marketing Methods & Vehicles 1: Overview

This begins a series on marketing methods and vehicles to improve your sales revenues

Last year we reviewed Bryan Walden Pope’s the 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. One of the 7 pillars describes using various methods and vehicles in marketing. They provide variety to your marketing effort. Methods include promotions, publicity/public relations, and advertising. Vehicles include what you use to deliver your message. We will explore each of them in detail over the next few weeks.

Methods of Marketing

Merriam-Webster defines a method as “a procedure or process for attaining an objective”. You can summarize almost all the processes or procedures to invite people to your business or to purchase your product or service:

• Promotions involve the process of enticing people to come to you by offering them a gift, sample, or something similar. Cross-promotions occur when the gift or sample you offer comes from another company you use to invite people to your company and theirs
• Publicity/public relations use free stories or messages to raise an awareness of your business so that people buy your product or service. Publicity may also include paid events like sponsoring a community event or charitable cause.
• Advertising follows the procedure of paying to place your message in front of potential, current, or future clients. You sculpt the message exactly the way you want it.

Vehicles to Communicate Your Message

Merriam-Webster defines a vehicle as a “an agent of transmission”. You transmit your message through a number of vehicles:

• Print conveys your message visually through any printed medium: newspaper, magazines, fliers, mailers, coupons or more
• Radio sends audible messages to potentially targeted audiences based on listening habits: rock, country, Latino, public radio, classical, or more
• Television transmits your messages visually and audibly over the air: networks, locals, cable, or satellite
• The Internet sends your message throughout the world using video, audio, print, interactive, and even games
• Parties have become an increasing agent of transmission to market plastic containers, health products, kitchen products, clothing, and more

We will examine each in the next several posts.

Thursday we focus on marketing method of promotion and cross-promotion