Marketing is very essential to the success of every business. It is one of the most important factors that determine the progress of businesses because it brings in the much desired sales. Most companies fail at marketing their products and services. Sometimes it is not because of the substandard quality of the product that causes low sales; it could be a result of an abysmal understanding of marketing and a poor execution of marketing strategies. The fact cannot be over-emphasized that marketing is integral to the achievement of goals entrepreneurs have set for their companies.
On 6th April, 2016, Mobile Web Ghana in collaboration with Cava Consulting held a one-day Marketing workshop at the MLab in Madina – the event was themed ‘Marketing for Profit’. Cava Consulting is a consulting firm based in America with a team that has carved a niche for itself in ‘transforming lives with entrepreneurship’ around the world. We were privileged to have the Principal and CEO of Cava Consulting, F.J Cava, to facilitate the workshop. F.J Cava has an MBA in Entrepreneurship from San Francisco State University. He is very much experienced in Small Business and International Development for job creation as well as Project Management. His wealth of knowledge and experience were brought to bear at the workshop.
The event attracted people from all walks of life. Most of whom were either entrepreneurs themselves or working as marketers for companies. This made it a perfect pool of trainees for a marketing workshop. It was an eye-opening experience throughout the entire session. The facilitator took the trainees through the 4 P’s of Marketing:
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
One of the most important factors that determines the success of any marketing campaign is how well the marketer knows the product. It will take an in depth knowledge of the product to be able to sell it to potential buyers. Cava made a profound statement when he stated that in marketing ‘people buy products and services based on benefits and not features’. Hence, when the marketer goes on and on rattling the various features of the product he is selling, he might not make a sale. But when he is able to outline the various benefits of the product or service, the potential consumer is more likely to be compelled to buy.
(Attendees participating in a communication exercise)
A clearly defined Target Market is also very important in marketing. A target market is a pool of people who are most likely to purchase a product or service due to some shared-qualities. In determining a target market, one would have to do so by outlining the demographics and psychographics of potential buyers. These can be discovered by using some marketing research tools like: one-on-one interviews, surveys, focus group discussions etc. To ensure that you are not marketing to the wrong group of people, you need to sift through the available market out there to find your target market. Marketers need to understand that they cannot market a product to everyone. There is always a specific group of people who are susceptible to the marketing of a particular product. It is therefore the duty of the marketer to identify this group of people and sell the product to them.
The session was very interactive and fun as the trainees threw a myriad of practical questions at F.J Cava to which he gave excellent answers. It was a very fruitful workshop. At the end of the day, there were many calls for another one to be held. It is our hope to host another workshop with F.J Cava soon when he is in town.