Most of us have never heard of Joseph Priestley, but we have all drank his invention. He was the man who invented Carbonated Water. Now, that I’m sure you’ve heard of. The words ‘soft drinks’ would make almost the entire world think of Coca Cola or Pepsi; two corporate giants whose products every man on earth has heard of, if not used. What is it about these two companies that make them so well recognized? It’s not the taste of the liquids they bottle, or their standard packaging. It’s the fact that they go out of their way to ensure that they are noticed and when a consumer wants a beverage they think of them, first. The secret behind the phenomenal success of Pepsi and Coca-Cola is their super fantastic marketing strategy. Now when I say marketing strategy, I don’t mean the fact that they feature living legends like Madonna in two minute commercials that don’t even get aired. I’m talking about so much more than just advertising. I’m talking about knowing what your customers want. It’s about making sure your product is something they need, or about making them think, they need.

The word marketing developed from the original meaning, which referred literally to going to the market. Today, marketing is a lot more than a visit to the local shop. Marketing is now considered by many as a science. It is absolutely vital that every business conducts marketing activities. Businesses cannot hope to be successful if they do not know exactly what their consumers need. That’s one of the questions marketing can answer. Once you have a product people would want, Marketing helps you decide how to make sure that people know about your product and buy it. So when was the last time you went to market, to market?