The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

In my work with small business owners, especially those just starting out, I have found that many of them confuse the terms advertising and marketing.

Marketing is the way a business identifies its customers, defines and develops the products or services those customers want, and sells and distributes those products or services to customers.

Advertising is the paid promotion of the goods and services provided by a business as part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of promotion include publicity, public relations, and sales promotion.

Spending large amounts of money on advertising can't overcome poor products, services or unclear marketing messages. Yet advertising is the first place small business owners start spending their dollars. Why is that?

My personal theory is that advertising channels have great sales people. Even if they are not great, they have lots of them, and with many of them paid mostly on commission they are usually very hungry for the next sale and a fledgling startup local business is easy prey. On the other hand, marketing firms don't operate that way.

If you want to meet some of these sales people, just open a new business. They'll be on you like crows on fresh road kill! You will hear from radio stations you didn't even know existed, cinemas that will promise you the world if only your ad ran on their big screen, and learn that people are still peddling vinyl covers for telephone books.

Telephone books? Seriously? I had to visit three neighbors just to be able to put my hands on a telephone book to do some research on Yellow Page advertising a couple months ago!

Recently, one small business owner asked to meet with me to discuss how I could help him. When he found out I charge to help people, he regretfully told me he had no money to hire me at the time. In the course of conversation he mentioned how excited he was to soon be able to plunk down $1500 for an ad to be run in a local cinema for 6 months and over 450 times a week.

Sounds like good exposure, but given the state of his marketing messages about his services, I doubt it would result in getting anyone's attention, let alone bring customers in the door to spend money!

Unless you are in a business without any competition, spend the time and money needed on marketing to clarify your message surrounding your products and services before you spend a penny on advertising. Otherwise you'll just be another roofer, kitchen remodeler, or computer repair guy with only your name and your phone number to set you apart from the rest of your competition.