What exactly is marketing and why is it important to you?  Simply stated, marketing is everything you do to place your product or service in the hands of potential customers.

It includes diverse disciplines like sales, public relations, pricing, packaging, and distribution.  

"If a young man tells his date she's intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he's saying the right things to the right person and that's marketing.  If the young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is — that's advertising.  If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is — that's public relations."

Yet the most brilliant strategy won't help you earn a profit or achieve your wildest dreams if it isn't built around your potential customers. 

 

A good marketing plan can help you focus your energy and resources.  That's why market research, however simple or sophisticated, is important.  Planning is imperative, research is important, but there's no substitute for entrepreneurial insight. 

After all, as Mark Twain wrote, "You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus".