Failing to Understand How Marketing Applies to Your Business

Every small-business owner confronts a number of marketing myths over the course of her career. These myths tend to confuse and mislead small-business owners, not only in the pre-start-up stage as they set out to develop their marketing plan but also as they graduate into managing the sales and marketing function of their ongoing business. The following are foremost among these marketing myths:

Marketing is all about advertising and promotion. Wrong! Advertising, promotions, and sales are really only three of the many subsets of marketing. According to Barbara Schenck, author of Small Business Marketing For Dummies (Wiley), marketing’s other elements include market research, product development, pricing, labels and packaging (where applicable), distribution, and customer service.