Why Marketing is not Sales

One endless source of confusion for business owners is the difference between marketing and sales. As I said in my first post:

Marketing is NOT sales. Marketing is your sales strategy. Marketing is a disciplined plan as to how you will identify your audience, assess their unmet needs, and communicate to them how your service or product can meet those needs.

Basically, Marketing is the how of how you sell. It's strategic:

• Determining where your business exists in the competitive space;
• Defining your unique offering;
• Clarifying your brand; and
• Defining your audience...

And it's also tactical:

• Developing lists of contacts;
• Creating or updating your online presence;
• Designing other marketing materials if you need them;
• Creating your marketing calendar; and
• Executing that calendar

To have great sales, you must support your sales activities with a strong marketing strategy.

So here's the first question. Where are you in the competitive space? Who are the other players and what do they offer right now? How are they getting the word out?

OK, that was three questions.

You'll need to figure out the answers to them all (or ask for help).  I'll tell you more about competitive analysis in a future post.