[Marketing] What is Marketing, Anyway? An Introduction from Field Experience [Beginner Level]

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Hello 🔰
I am "Hiraduke the Foot Soldier," a regular salaryman who fights daily on the front lines of sales and marketing.
Once again, I will be posting daily about what I have experienced regarding:

・Sales techniques
・Marketing basics
・The "0▶︎1" journey for AI side hustles
I plan to keep updating these.
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I have also spent about 15 years moving back and forth between the fields of sales and marketing.

Cold calling, door-to-door sales, follow-up sales. I have done it all, including the dull and gritty work.
That is exactly why I think this:
Sales is tough not because you lack grit, but because you lack a map.

Marketing is "Preparation Before Selling"

To start with the conclusion,
Marketing is about proactively preparing things so that they sell.

Sales is about making proposals to the customer right in front of you.
Marketing is about thinking beforehand about "who" to target, "what" to offer, and "how" to deliver it.

Who is in trouble?
What does that person look at to feel reassured?
Is it a website?
Is it direct mail?
Is it a referral?
Is it a flyer?

If you just work hard at sales without this "design before selling," you end up explaining everything from scratch every single time.
That is honestly exhausting, isn't it?

The story of how I realized "Sales alone is not enough"

In the past, I was definitely the"active type."I would call, visit, propose, and call again.
Well, that is what I was taught by my seniors, so it couldn't be helped. That was all I knew.
Looking back now, I was just an energetic foot soldier (lol).
Of course,
there were many jobs I could land that way. Conversely, I think that method was the best fit for the products at that company.
But when I started selling different products, for some reason... it didn't go the same way.

This is strange...
That is what I thought... because it had always worked before when I just charged in...
That is when it suddenly occurred to me.


"Is this method actually right for this customer?"If the content had been conveyed on the website beforehand...

If they had known about our existence through direct mail first...
If they had felt reassured by a blog or case studies...
If they had reached out to us with an inquiry...
That is right...
Sales should be much easier.
That was when I finally realized that, separate from sales, I needed a system to make selling easier.

That was my entry point into marketing.
A bit late, right? (lol)

At first, these three things are enough

Leaving out difficult terms, these three are fine to start with.

① Who are you delivering to?
Targeting everyone usually resonates with no one. First, decide on the person who seems to be in the most trouble.

② How will that person find out?
If they are young, it might be social media.
But for government or B2B, direct mail or phone calls can sometimes be faster.
For dentists or osteopathic clinics, flyers can sometimes be more effective than web ads.

③ How can you make them feel reassured?
Track record, case studies, pricing, and the kindness of your words.
It is important not just to have a product, but to make them think, "This looks legitimate."

Even if you are bad with numbers, having landmarks makes it easier to move forward

In sales, you basically manage everything with numbers.
Working backward from your target numbers,
you determine what needs to be done today and the quantity, and then you sell accordingly.
The numbers that often come up at that time are what we call
KGI and KPI.
Some intimidating-sounding words appear.
But a rough understanding is enough.

☑️KGI is the goal
☑️KPI is a landmark along the way
※ These will definitely come up in meetings, so let's remember them.

It is okay not to be an expert from the start

I am not the type who can talk about flashy success stories.
If anything, I am the type who has picked up things that work in the field while quietly failing.
Even things like KPIs, I didn't understand until my boss asked me about them.
"KPI? Should I just push with guts?
Does that mean I should do my best?"
That is the level I was at.

That is exactly why I want to share this.
Marketing was not a difficult academic discipline for amazing people.
It becomes a necessity as you continue doing sales.
It is a way of thinking that makes things easier to know, especially for those who have struggled with sales.

Instead of just "selling,"
make it easier to sell.

I think grasping this sense is enough for now.
Is this sense perhaps the very beginning of marketing?

Next time, I will organize the differences between sales and marketing more gently from a field perspective.

Thank you for reading again this time.

Hiraduke the Foot Soldier