By definition, marketing is the process of communicating offers and value to a business. It can also be thought of as conveying value in hopes that sales are generated.
Advertising is the process of calling attention to these offers and values. As you may expect, this is most often accomplished through paid announcements, such as billboards, radio commercials, etc.
But, there’s much more that goes into both of these endeavors. Let’s take a closer look.
Marketing
The first step of marketing is coming up with reasons why your product or service stands out from that of your competitors. This is known as a unique selling proposition (USP), and it will serve as the foundation for your marketing efforts.
From here, you can begin to develop your marketing strategy—but, it’s often not as easy as it sounds.
To instill a sense of desire in your target audience that results in them making a purchase, you’ll need to have a thorough understanding of how they think and who they are.
More specifically, you’ll need to consider factors like:
Age
Gender
Annual income
Occupation
Level of education
Geographic location and time zone
Hobbies and interests
Analyze all these attributes to help you think as your customer would. Then, you’ll begin to understand what messages they resonate with, what type of humor they are likely to have, etc.
The Four P's
It’s also essential to research the amount of demand for a product or service. No matter what you offer, you can't expect to hit the numbers you want if nobody’s looking for what you provide.
A marketing strategy can seem complicated at first, but it can be broken down into four segments. These are often referred to as the 'Four P’s.’ They include:
Product
Price
Placement
Promotion
The term product refers to both products and services. It also references products that currently exist as well as those that have not yet been created.
Although the price is a simpler concept, it’s one of the most crucial. Setting too high of a price can deter your audience from making a purchase. A price that is too low can make your audience question the value of your product or service.
Placement refers to how you distribute your supply. It can also refer to the medium that’s used to conduct sales, such as an actual store, an online platform, etc.
Promotion is a blanket term that includes any form of communication that’s used to convey a message about your product or service.
All four must be finely-tuned to make the most out of your marketing strategy. This often requires both extensive research and planning to optimize.
Advertising
Advertising can be thought of as how you deliver product-related messages to your audience. Its purpose is to create the ideal type of exposure for the product by accomplishing two tasks:
Informing the public that the product exists
Influencing buyer behavior
Since the average person is bombarded by thousands of advertisements each day, the message you present must be strategically created to stand out.
Purchasing behavior can be split into three different phases:
Cognitive- Buyers are still considering the message they received through advertisements, so this stage should be used to generate interest in the product
Affective- The buyer is beginning to relate emotionally to the brand, which is something advertisements at this stage should aim to facilitate
Conative- Buyers begin to legitimately desire the product, which your advertising can help them accomplish
It’s crucial to understand which phase your target audience is in while developing advertisements. Incorporating elements of the wrong phases won’t do much to help you generate sales.
In fact, it may even serve to deter potential customers, discouraging them from interacting with your brand in the future.
Advertising can also be thought of as the psychology of understanding the way your audience thinks in order to reach them in the best way possible.
How Do I Use Both for My Business?
Advertising and marketing synergize together in order for both of them to be as effective as possible.
For example, even the most creative, compelling advertisements in the world may not do much for people who have no use for the product in question. Similarly, a quality product doesn’t always sell itself. Strategic, clever advertising is crucial in building consumer interest.
As you develop your techniques in both areas, you’ll find that you’ll both understand your audience more and develop the perfect way to reach them.
From here, all you’ll need to do is ensure that your product lives up to the hype.
Understanding the Differences Can Seem Difficult
But it doesn't have to be.
With the above information about the answer to, "What is the difference between marketing and advertising?", you'll be well on your way to using both to your advantage in the best way possible.
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