“Marketing: it is challenging, creative and fun”

The world of marketing shapes our consumer choices, writes Abdullah Al Hasan, 25, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Dhaka in Bangladesh, as he looks behind the scenes at how marketing works.

Suppose you’re going to buy a product and you opt for a specific brand. Now the question is – why do you choose that brand?

Maybe you choose that specific brand because it has always been credible to you, or maybe your best friend suggests it, or maybe you come across one of their creative advertisements, or maybe you know that your favourite movie star James Bond uses it in movies, or maybe it’s just the packaging that makes you choose it over others.

See, there could be a lot of reasons! Sometimes it happens that you are not sure of the reason for which you’re picking a specific brand. And here lies the beauty of marketing. No matter which reason motivates you to choose that brand, it’s all about marketing. No matter whether or not you are aware of that reason, still there is marketing. Yes, that’s what it is.

Marketing strategies work in different and mysterious ways. These strategies can make you stick with a brand for such a long time, encourage your close people to spread positive reviews, and even make James Bond use it in his movies.

Marketing is based on four P’s: product, price, place and promotion. In one word, marketing is all about communication. Communicating values of a product to customers is called marketing.

It has always been fun to study marketing, as it involves a lot of things. You have to know and analyse your target market and launch a product that would fulfil the consumer’s demand in the best possible way. You have to know the psychology and behaviour of your target market as well. Marketing is no longer limited to simply selling. It focuses on building a long term relationship with customers. Marketing wants to make sure you are always with the brand, that you think positively about that brand, and you give it the highest priority.

Promotions always play the most vital role in marketing. Creative and catchy advertisements make the job easy for every company. You might think that liking an advertisement or paying attention to a promotion will not always help you go for a specific brand, but as it is mentioned already, sometimes you are not sure why you choose a specific brand. This is an example of an occasion where the reason (liking an advertisement) is what indirectly encourages you.

There are a lot of companies that send their representatives to markets to collect data and information about customers. You might wonder how this works. And the interesting part is, they send their representatives not just to collect data, but also they do it to build a good relationship with you, so that you realize that those brands or companies really care for you and come to you. It will help you build a positive mindset towards them.

Practicing marketing is a challenging job. Suppose there is a strong brand which has been credible to people for a very long time. You would probably think that that company doesn’t need to promote their brand any more. You’re so wrong, because people tend to switch from one brand to another in a jiffy. So if that brand fails to stick with you, there is a high risk or chance that they might lose you. No business wants to do that. Serving current customers is less expensive than managing new customers.

Marketing is challenging not only for building an image, but also for another big reason. If any promotion goes wrong, the company might have to pay for it. The impact is so heavy that the company will suffer in the long run; they might even get out of the market for good. It takes years to build a positive and strong image, yet it takes only one bad promotion to destroy it. The challenge is – if such an incident happens – how to restore the previous image of the company. That is definitely a hard job, but not impossible. You have to spend a lot of money and effort to do it. You will have to arrange different types of programs and campaigns to convince your target market that you’re still on the track.

Giant companies exist because of their outstanding marketing policies and strategies. It’s a competitive world; competition is everywhere. Competition is particularly hard in the marketing sector. You have to struggle to satisfy your current customers, attract new customers, face your competitors and make profit at the end of the day.

If you are not afraid of taking new challenges every day, if nothing can get on your nerves, if you love to generate creative ideas and if you are ready to know and convince people, marketing is exactly what you want. It won’t fail to amaze you.

photo credit: Image for San Pellegrino video ADV. via photopin (license)
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About me:

Hi I’m from Bangladesh, the green land. Currently I’m studying marketing at North South University, Dhaka. I love to explore human minds. Writing is my favourite pastime. I always try to do research about people, politics, metaphysics, English and marketing.

I’m just an ordinary guy with some extra-ordinary dreams to be fulfilled. I believe a moment staying with family is just worth living. Friends are my oxygen.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?
To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/

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