Marketing functions are an essential part of any successful business, and content marketing has become an increasingly important tool in the marketing arsenal. Content marketing is a strategic approach that involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. In this article, we will explore the key functions of marketing and how content marketing can help achieve them.
Seven Functions of Marketing
Market Research
Market research is a crucial function of marketing, as it helps businesses understand their target audience, their needs, and their behavior. By conducting research, businesses can gather valuable insights that can inform their marketing strategy, product development, and sales efforts.
Content marketing can support market research in several ways. First, by creating valuable and relevant content, businesses can attract their target audience and engage with them. Through comments, social media shares, and other forms of engagement, businesses can gather insights into their audience’s interests, pain points, and preferences.
Second, businesses can use content marketing to test new product ideas and gauge customer interest. For example, by creating a series of blog posts or social media updates about a new product or service, businesses can measure the engagement and interest of their audience. This can help them refine their product offerings and better meet the needs of their target market.
Product Development
Product development is another key function of marketing, as it involves creating products and services that meet the needs and desires of the target market. By understanding the target audience and their pain points, businesses can develop products and services that provide value and meet customer needs.
Content marketing can support product development by providing businesses with valuable insights into their target market. By creating content that addresses the pain points and interests of their audience, businesses can gather feedback and insights that can inform their product development efforts.
Additionally, content marketing can help businesses test and validate new product ideas. By creating content around a new product or service, businesses can measure the engagement and interest of their audience, which can help them determine the viability of the product.
Promotion and Advertising
Promotion and advertising are perhaps the most well-known functions of marketing, as they involve communicating the value of a product or service to the target audience. By promoting and advertising their products and services, businesses can increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales.
Content marketing can support promotion and advertising efforts by creating valuable and engaging content that attracts and retains the target audience. By creating content that speaks directly to the needs and interests of the target audience, businesses can build trust and credibility, which can ultimately lead to increased sales.
Additionally, content marketing can support advertising efforts by creating content that complements and reinforces the messaging of advertising campaigns. For example, a business might create a series of blog posts that provide more detail and context around the messaging of an advertising campaign, which can help reinforce the message and increase the impact of the campaign.
Sales Enablement
Sales enablement is a function of marketing that involves equipping the sales team with the tools and resources they need to effectively sell products and services. By providing sales reps with the right information and materials, businesses can increase the effectiveness of their sales efforts and drive more revenue.
Content marketing can support sales enablement by creating content that addresses common questions and objections that sales reps might encounter during the sales process. By providing sales reps with this information, businesses can help them overcome objections and close more sales.
Additionally, content marketing can provide sales reps with valuable insights into the target market, which can help them better understand the needs and interests of potential customers. By creating content that provides insights into customer behavior and preferences, businesses can help their sales reps tailor their approach and better meet the needs of their target market.
Customer Service
Finally, customer service is a crucial function of marketing that involves providing excellent customer service to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. By providing exceptional customer service, businesses can retain existing customers and attract new ones through positive word-of-mouth.
Content marketing can support customer service by creating helpful and informative content that addresses common customer questions and concerns. For example, a business might create a series of how-to articles or instructional videos that help customers use their products or troubleshoot common issues.
Additionally, content marketing can provide customers with valuable insights and information that can help them make more informed purchasing decisions. By creating content that compares and contrasts different products or provides in-depth information about product features and benefits, businesses can help customers make better purchasing decisions, which can ultimately lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Branding
Branding is a function of marketing that involves creating and maintaining a brand identity that resonates with the target audience. A strong brand identity can help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors and create a sense of loyalty and trust with customers.
Content marketing can support branding efforts by creating content that reflects the brand’s values and personality. By creating content that is consistent with the brand identity, businesses can reinforce their brand image and create a stronger emotional connection with their target audience.
Additionally, content marketing can help businesses build their brand by creating content that positions the business as a thought leader or industry expert. By providing valuable insights and information about the industry or the target market, businesses can establish themselves as trusted source of information, which can ultimately lead to increased brand awareness and loyalty.
Distribution
Distribution is a function of marketing that involves getting products and services in front of the target audience. By effectively distributing their products and services, businesses can increase visibility, generate leads, and drive sales.
Content marketing can support distribution efforts by creating content that is optimized for search engines and social media. By creating content that is easily discoverable and shareable, businesses can increase their reach and attract more traffic to their website.
Additionally, content marketing can support distribution efforts by creating content that is tailored to different stages of the buyer’s journey. By creating content that addresses the different needs and concerns of buyers at each stage of the journey, businesses can effectively guide them through the sales funnel and increase the likelihood of conversion.
In conclusion, content marketing can support a wide range of marketing functions, including market research, product development, promotion and advertising, sales enablement, and customer service. By creating valuable and relevant content that engages with the target audience and addresses their needs and interests, businesses can increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive sales, and build strong customer relationships. To succeed in today’s digital landscape, businesses must embrace content marketing as a key component of their marketing strategy.
