The company's marketing activities are not always spectacular actions that generate significant budgets. Implementing a marketing strategy is more like patiently digging into a rock, drop by drop. It is important that marketing activities supporting sales are properly planned. Acting without a plan is planning to fail, but it is worth remembering that every effective marketing action plan is primarily characterized by flexibility. The world is changing too quickly to stick rigidly to even the most proven strategy.
Marketing activities should be an integral part of the functioning of any company aimed at acquiring customers and generating high profits. Thanks to them, the company can increase the visibility of its offer, improve its image and improve sales. We present the basic division of marketing activities.
What will you learn from the article?
What are a company's marketing activities and how can the elements of effective marketing be divided? In the article, we will look at the basic classification of marketing activities, including traditional and digital ones. We will discuss the differences between them and look at other classifications of marketing activities that are also used in practice. Get ready for an in-depth analysis of various marketing strategies and practical tips on how to choose the right activities for your company.
Marketing activities - basic classification
Effective company marketing leads to the creation of a specific company image. In this way, it helps to properly promote its offer and build long-term relationships with customers. The size and scope of activities undertaken may vary. However, it should always be tailored to the needs and preferences of the target group, the specificity of the industry in which the company operates and the current state of the economy and market opportunities.
Marketing activities implementing a specific marketing campaign differ depending on the form of reaching potential customers. We will highlight outbound marketing, i.e. outbound marketing as well inbound marketing, called incoming.
The first of them – outbound – is a traditional form of marketing activities. What is it? Well, the company directly addresses the customer, encouraging him to take advantage of the offer. Outbound marketing can be carried out through face-to-face meetings, telephone and e-mail contact, advertisements in the mass media, or classic advertising materials (e.g. leaflets, folders, etc.).
The aim of inbound marketing activities is to maximize the customer's interest in the offer, so that the customer himself initiates contact with the brand. It uses interesting infographics for video, substantive content, as well as all SEO activities.
There are many different types of marketing activities.
Contact us and we will choose the perfect one for your company!
Optimization of marketing activities
All marketing activities should be tailored to both the needs of the market and the financial or resource capabilities of a specific company. The marketing plan and marketing activities supporting sales should be matched to the preferences of the target group, industry and the current state of the economy. The key to success is effective customer reach, which can be achieved through both inbound and outbound marketing activities.
Marketing activities supporting inbound marketing
Marketing activities within inbound marketing are referred to as "inbound marketing". They focus on providing recipients with specific values - interesting content, inspiring photos, knowledge-providing graphics, engaging videos, and substantive webinars. Their task is to attract customers, gain their trust and build long-term relationships.
Marketing activities supporting outbound marketing
Marketing activities within outbound marketing are referred to as "outbound marketing". They focus on reaching audiences through paid promotional channels. These may be search engine ads, paid content on social media, or online banners. Their task is to present the customer with an attractive offer and "persuade" him to make a purchase.
Digital and traditional marketing activities
Planning marketing activities is undoubtedly one of the most difficult and responsible activities of a company. Effective company marketing can be carried out using many different platforms and tools, the implementation costs of which vary dramatically. However, the key to success is not so much the use of appropriate tools. The most important thing is to skillfully combine them in order to use the synergy effect, which allows for an even greater increase in their effectiveness. The consistent use of many supporting tools brings not only better but also long-term results.
One of the classifications divides marketing activities according to the communication channels used, i.e. into:
- digital marketing,
- traditional marketing.
Digital marketing is about establishing contact with recipients through advertising on TV or appropriate activities on the Internet (Internet marketing). The traditional one is all analogue methods of reaching potential customers, i.e. promotions in local newspapers, handing out leaflets and advertising catalogs, or placing promotional materials on banners and billboards in the city.
Effective internet marketing
Nowadays, most marketing activities are carried out on the Internet. No wonder, more and more people are taking advantage of the benefits of this medium. The Internet offers not only a whole range of various effective tools that allow you to reach the hearts and minds of recipients even more precisely, but also unprecedented effectiveness of marketing activities. We distinguish the following best marketing activities on the Internet:
- marketing activities including SEO positioning, which ensures adequate visibility of our website in the Google search engine and increasing traffic and user stay time on the website (this type of SEO marketing activities include both positioning, optimization of content, graphics and metadata, as well as appropriate linking and building a solid base SEO),
- online marketing activities in the field of content marketing, including publishing valuable content, graphics, photos and videos both on the website, company blogs, and marketing in social media,
- Internet marketing in social media, focused on building a community around the brand through regular communication, using both free and paid advertising activities and cooperation with influencers,
- marketing activities on the Internet in paid advertising places (SEM) used to increase awareness of the existence of a given brand and conduct effective remarketing,
- marketing activities on the Internet using e-mails (newsletters), which allow for a fully personalized form of contact with people who have provided us with their address and thus have shown a willingness to receive offers or other valuable content from us.
Offline activities that should be included in your marketing plan
Although the effectiveness of online marketing activities is indisputable, no brand should forget that its customers live in the real world every day. Currently, traditional media - press, radio and television, outdoor media, events, gadgets and printed materials - are mainly used to reinforce activities carried out on the Internet.
Traditional marketing activities are increasingly being combined with the digital world using artificial intelligence and modern technology. It is worth remembering that the best marketing activities using creative and original ambient marketing can spread across the Internet with truly viral power and, most importantly, non-standard marketing activities are often completely free of charge.
Other classifications of marketing activities
Marketing activities also depend on the group of recipients. Clients can be divided into:
- individual consumers - B2C (business-to-customer) marketing,
- companies - B2B marketing (business-to-business).
The main categories of effective marketing activities are divided into smaller ones, from which further ones can be distinguished. The choice of the optimal form of marketing depends on many factors, including: on the characteristics of the recipients, the form of activity and the specificity of the industry. The right course of action will help you choose, among others: PR agency.
Standard and non-standard activities supporting the marketing campaign
All valuable marketing activities, both online and offline, consume not only a significant amount of money, but also man-hours, so the process of planning them should always be approached with respect and care. First, you should determine the basic marketing goals that you want to achieve with your activities. Properly selected KPIs, i.e. key performance indicators, will allow you to determine the effectiveness of your marketing activities. When you precisely define the place you are striving for, you increase your chance of success.
The next extremely important step in the process of planning marketing activities is the selection of the target group and the precise definition of the features, needs and preferences that characterize it. One of the most effective tools that help precisely characterize the representatives of the target group is the creation of the so-called person. Knowing your audience is the key to the success of your marketing activities.
If you want to create an effective person, you need to take into account a whole range of characteristics - age, gender, place of residence, origin, education, profession, marital status, family status, way of spending free time, life plans, priorities, interests, values, difficulties you face. struggles, the problems it tries to solve and the expectations it associates with our offer. A well-defined persona allows you to select appropriate communication channels and the form of message.
When planning valuable marketing activities and effective marketing campaigns, you should always remember about your competition and closely monitor their actions. In business, it is always better to learn from other people's mistakes than from your own. Careful observation of the competition's activities also allows you to spot gaps that are worth filling in order to stand out in the market. Based on competitors' activities, market observations and information from target group research, you should collect all the ideas that you want to use at every stage of marketing activities - from attracting the attention of potential customers, through persuading them to make a purchase, to ensuring their loyalty.
How to organize individual advertising activities into an effective marketing strategy?
All marketing activities resemble a puzzle. Each of them is equally important to put the whole puzzle together. Once we have collected all the pieces of the puzzle, i.e. the elements of effective marketing, they must be properly arranged and planned to guide the potential customer step by step through the entire sales process. A properly developed marketing strategy resembles a map with specific business goals as a reference point. The effects of effective marketing should be monitored at every stage of their implementation. Conclusions drawn quickly enough will allow you to correct the plan relatively painlessly and safely transfer the invested funds.
Marketing activities – summary
Valuable marketing activities are an extremely important element of a company's operation. It is no longer a whim that helps us acquire new customers, but a necessity that allows us to build a lasting competitive advantage and long-term relationships with customers. The choice of effective marketing activities depends on many factors and should result from a well-thought-out marketing strategy based on basic marketing goals.
Marketing activities are a set of activities aimed at creating a need, appropriate promotion of the offer and effective distribution of specific products or services. They can be implemented both in the B2C model, i.e. directly to an individual customer (business-to-customer), and B2B, i.e. to a business customer (business-to-business).
Effective marketing campaigns conducted to increase the company's visibility most often begin with SEO activities including website positioning. Thanks to properly performed SEO optimization, we are able to create an attractive, functional and popular website that will meet the criteria not only of users, but also of indexing robots. Following activities involving SEO positioning, it is worth conducting marketing activities in the field of content marketing. This is a great way to build trust with potential customers and build long-term relationships with them.
Well-run social media is also an excellent tool for maintaining constant and direct contact with recipients and quickly responding to their possible comments. All marketing activities carried out on the Internet should be strengthened through traditional media and contact with recipients in the real world, as well as non-standard marketing activities. This will not only allow you to reach people who do not use the Internet, but also retain in the recipient's memory the message initiated in the digital world.
Entrepreneurs and marketing specialists should pay great attention to precisely matching promotional strategies to their brand, products and, above all, to the expectations and needs of their customers. Regardless of whether they use traditional, digital or innovative methods, it is important to understand the preferences and behaviors of recipients and the flexibility in adapting activities to effectively build a strong image and long-term market relationships.
The digital era opens up new horizons of opportunities for companies. However, ambitious goals and unique products require equally effective marketing strategies. Credibility, authority and education are the keys to success in gaining the trust of customers and their wallets. Marketing activities are not only about sales, they are primarily an investment in the development and social involvement of the company over the years.