It is such a common misconception that marketing and promotion are interchangeable titles for the different services. I want to address this because not enough small business owners and independent brands understand the difference. When people contact me about “marketing services”, they oftentimes are looking for promotions, advertising, or even public relations. They want me to immediately make money for them. Marketing doesn’t quite work that way.Developing your marketing mix includes determining your product, pricing, placing, and … wait for it… promotion (sometimes we include a 5th “P” of marketing, people). So naturally, if promotion is included as a part of a marketing mix, the two can’t be the same thing. But what is truly the difference? Let’s address them one at a time.
Marketing (my true love) is, by definition of the American Marketing Association, “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” It is the process of creating your product based on the needs of your identified customer.
One major thing most small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t realize that marketing is a part of the pricing process. It involves understanding your customer, your competitors, and the true value (as well as, the perceived value) of what you are offering. With marketing, a brand develops what they will sell, who they will sell it to, where they should sell it to them, what price they will sell it for, and how it should be promoted to them.
One major thing most small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t realize that marketing is a part of the pricing process. It involves understanding your customer, your competitors, and the true value (as well as, the perceived value) of what you are offering. With marketing, a brand develops what they will sell, who they will sell it to, where they should sell it to them, what price they will sell it for, and how it should be promoted to them.
Which lands us at promotion. Promotions are the events, activities, contests, etc. that create awareness of your product/service that will bring it closer to your ideal customer. It comes after nearly all the other marketing “Ps”. (Because you do have to know what you are promoting.) Promotion is what keeps your product/service in front of your customers. You can absolutely have marketing without promotions (though not at all recommended), but it is impossible to have promotions without marketing.
A great example of this relationship is club promoting. A club promoter doesn’t have to market (though some do it all). The club owner normally hands the promoter the other “Ps” in the marketing mix. They determine the product (party or venue space), price (to enter or to rent), and the place (location of the club).
There! Now we have an idea of the difference. A marketing specialist, like myself, can most definitely promote for you. But at least now you have a better understanding of what they are going to have to consider first if you have not already.
If you are on our email list, you should have received the break down of what the 4 (sometimes 5) P’s of the marketing mix are. I hope this helps you as you develop your strategy and make sound decisions about your brand!
Now… GO BE GREAT!
-Jacqueline Jones
Thank you for explaining the difference. This gives me a clear understanding as Director of Community Outreach in the content I send out and the meaning of it.