These fields of activity are very closely linked, which is why many often confuse what concerns marketing, communication or advertising.
We will try here to give you a portrait of these three professions in order to help you see a little more clearly.
Marketing to study a market …
Doing marketing is primarily to study a market, to know, how to meet it and influence it.
It is about offering a product (or a service) adapted to the needs of a targeted clientele (we also speak of market segment) in order to achieve marketing objectives such as:
- increase in turnover,
- the acquisition of new customers,
- customer loyalty,
- the development of a product range, …
To restaurateur, it will, at first, through market research, to locate your brand, your products (or services) on the catering market:
- analyse of needs,
- competition,
- the prices charged according to the products or services,
- the geographical, economic, sociological environment where you plan to set up, …
You can then define a Marketing Mix, or operational marketing; and start to establish a marketing strategy. The Marketing Mix brings together the tools that will allow you to achieve your marketing objectives and optimize your ROI (Return On Investment).
- the product (its characteristics, its added value, the associated product range, its packaging, its associated services, its guarantees, etc.);
- the price (the acceptability price, its profitability, the terms of payment, etc.);
- the distribution (networks, distribution channels and points of sale, inventory, delivery …);
- the communication (advertising, promotion, public relations …).
Note, we sometimes speak of ” 4P ” to evoke the Marketing Mix according to its English terms: Product, Price, Place, Promotions .
Communication to promote a product or service …
Make the communication is all about and symbolically convey a message from a transmitter up to a receiver by means of a channel or media.
As we saw a little above, communication is one of the 4 levers of operational marketing (or Marketing Mix ). It makes it possible to make a product (or service) known to consumers .
There are two main areas in communication depending on the media used:
- media communication (advertising),
- non-media communication.
The communication “non-media” includes all actions of direct marketing that serve a brand or product, but no purchases of advertising space .
Some examples :
- the design of a visual identity (logo, flyer, business card, POS, etc.)
- the graphic creation of a showcase website,
- organization of events (brand / product launch, team building,
- programming and participation in trade fairs or forums, etc.),
- management of social media marketing services, …
To communicate well , and interact with an audience (or target in marketing) you must know:
- send a clear message,
- with a suitable tone,
- to the target audience,
- and choosing a relevant medium.
To read soon, an article to learn more about the different communication media: publication scheduled for early 2020!
Advertising to promote …
The advertising is this ultimately a communication tool ; one of its fields of action. It always involves a financial cost with the purchase of advertising space.
We speak of advertising to refer to communication actions on the mass media (or “mass media” in English).
There are 6 major media to advertise on:
- Internet,
- the press,
- the movie theater,
- the radio,
- television,
- display.
Advertising, Marketing, Communication for your restaurant
After reading this module, can you tell if you are in advertising, marketing or communication ? Probably all three…
Because, as you will understand, these concepts are particularly linked and complementary: advertising is one of the communication tools which itself is one of the major levers of marketing.
What should be remembered is that these 3 professions will allow you to achieve your objectives , promote your brand, increase your sales, retain your customers and in the long term increase your ROI !
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