And so it goes with marketing. Which brings me back to my Marketing 101 class in college and one of the most important P’s of marketing: Product.

As obvious as it seems, it’s easy to forget while we’re all chasing social media, SEO, email campaigns, etc. etc. etc. that great marketing begins with product. I’ve been thinking alot about this lately. When you start with a bad product, the rest of your marketing become a complex effort of smoke and mirrors to distract from your product’s downfalls or present an image that is not a reality
Abra has been fortunate in that we work with clients who really have great products and services. This makes for really exciting marketing because when you start with a great product, marketing becomes a process of peeling back the layers between your prospects and your product to reveal all the great things it has to offer.

When you have a great story to tell, the challenge is finding unique ways to get the complete story to your audience. This past year, this has lead us to explore new marketing opportunities that allow us to tell more of our clients’ stories – to really get into the ‘layers’ of who they are and what they have to offer. Of course we’re still driving our efforts with traditional media and online efforts, but expanded messages have included a half-hour show on local tv, a feature on In View with Larry King, and even creating a short documentary film.

So start with Product:
Do you really have a great product?
What do people love about your product?
What are its shortcomings? How can you fix them?

Ask yourself: When my customers are talking to people about us, what are they saying? Are you happy with what the answer would be? If not, map out what you need to do to fix it.

With social media and online review venues, this is more important than ever. We all know people are more likely to complain than compliment. And now that feedback is going out to hundreds or thousands or even many more people AND staying there online for years to come.

So before you plan your next campaign, look at your product. If it’s broken, hopefully you’ll be able to fix it. If you’ve got a great product, focus on what people really love about it and that will help you design a better campaign as well.

I’ve developed this list over the years based on the foundation I learned in Marketing 101 in college which taught 5 P’s.

I’ll be coming back to this list with further definitions and examples from our work in the marketing arena.