There are many definitions, but in its purest form, marketing is all about identifying a need, producing a product or service to meet that need, and then providing that service or product to your audience as efficiently as possible.

Marketing is about planning.

Without a plan of what you want to achieve and why; how you plan to achieve it and how you will measure it, you will never be truly effective. Aside from anything else, planning will prevent duplication of effort and will save you a lot of time and money as a result.

Marketing is more than just fundraising.

There are many different stakeholders out there who could have a positive effect on your organisation beyond just donors. Volunteers, trustees, the media, pressure groups, politicians…Marketing is about reaching out to all of them.

Marketing is about collaboration.

We realise that most support and third sector organisations don’t have limitless resources. Forming partnerships with people and organisations that can help you reach your audience or develop new skills is an extremely effective marketing tactic.

Marketing is more than branding and communication.

Advertising, PR, the internet and brands are all incredibly important. But first and foremost you need to be producing a product or service that your audience actually wants (assuming you know who your audience is, of course).

Marketing is not a science.

There are scientific elements to marketing (measurement, research) but it remains subjective – and very unpredictable. There are thousands of variables that make the best-laid marketing plans fail in practice.

Marketing isn’t just about finding new audiences.

It’s about retaining, nurturing and developing existing ones – particularly the important audiences and service users, that make a major contribution to your organisation.
 

Do it yourself?

As we’ve said, marketing is not an exact science, but it’s certainly not rocket science. Much good marketing practice is based on common sense, good knowledge of your business and the right tools and techniques to help guide you. The resources on this site can help you to make it happen.