The 5 Most Important Things about Marketing That You May Not Know

What are the five most important things to know about marketing? Originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Testing Trumps Talking

Got three ideas for that marketing slogan? Don’t call a meeting to discuss it – ignore what you’re friend’s brother’s neighbour tells you about how cool number 2 is – just spend $50 on AdWords and track the response rates for the options.

Visitors Aren’t Customers

Eyeballs don’t pay the bill. People who come into your shop, and look around cooing about how lovely the designs are don’t pay the bill. People who talk about how they’d like to go to your restaurant don’t pay the bill – people who spend money pay the bill. Learn to tell the difference – don’t spend money on thousands of visitors who want to look – attract the tens who want to buy.

It’s Easier to Sell Something to Someone Who Already Wants It.

You think that people would buy your product if only they’d take the time to understand how it would revolutionise their life / office / clothing / kitchen… but they just don’t ‘get it’. You need to offer something insanely brilliantly compelling to get them to spend more than 5 seconds looking at it – and even then it might be 20 years before they buy it because the other option is cheaper / more expensive / a different colour / bigger / smaller / lighter / heavier and a better fit for what they think they want.

One Raving Fan Is Better Than One Hundred ‘It Was OK; I Guess’ Purchasers.

Why would you spend money on marketing when your customers will do it for you – most people buy on the recommendation of people they trust. Make sure that your customers think they’ve had astounding value, to the extent that they tell their friends about you.

If You Say This Will Appeal to Everyone’, You Don’t Understand Your Market.

Sure, old-fashioned demographics like ‘income’, or ‘age’ might matter, and you might be better thinking in terms of ‘people interested in XXX’, but even in something as ubiquitous as a plate, there are people who will spend 99c and people who will spend $99. They aren’t the same market.

Contributed by Mark Harrison, CTO, werarewe