You’ve got a great SAP business and you’re proud of what you deliver. Now you need to communicate your awesomeness to the world, and how you can help them achieve their goals and solve their problems – this is where marketing comes in!

If you are an SAP partner who is looking to learn more about marketing or review the fundamentals, then this post is for you!

You’ve got a great offering, and you’ve worked hard to make it something that buyers will love. But with so many voices being broadcast, with so many messages being communicated, with so many merchants of all types vying for the attention of your buyers, it can be challenging to get noticed.

You need to be heard as well!

In most cases, the presence of your great product by itself isn’t enough for you to be found. You need to let the world know that you exist, that you’re awesome and that you can make a difference in the lives of your buyers!

This is why you need marketing !

Marketing is communicating – communicating to your customers, your buyers, and to your audience at large, and letting them know that you have something to offer that can truly help them with their needs – that can help them achieve their goals and solve their problems.

People are busy – their time is precious, and often, they don’t have the time to look for you. And that’s why you need to go to them.

Marketing is communicating

Marketing doesn’t mean that you are exaggerating, or saying things that aren’t true. Rather it’s about reminding your audience of your existence, keeping them informed, educating them, and allowing them to associate your name with valuable information and offerings.

And marketing doesn’t have to be a super-expensive flashy billboard or magazine ad. In fact, with the prevalence of social media and Web technologies, an effective marketing campaign can be executed by any enterprise on any budget.

Marketing is just as important as other business processes at your company

One thing you do need to keep in mind however, is that marketing is just as important as your other business activities. You cannot keep marketing as an afterthought – rather, you must actively market your offering. There are two reasons for this:

You need to remain top of mind

You want to always ensure that your company and enterprise remain relevant to your audience. People have a lot on their mind and it’s very easy to forget about you. You need to tell them, ‘hey I am still here and I am still a viable solution for you’!

You need to nurture your leads

The journey to making a purchase is made in stages – 1) become aware of a business need, 2) search for viable solutions that meet this need, and then 3) select a vendor with the best solution – your goal should be to guide and accompany your buyers, providing them with the information and answers they need as they advance through each of the stages.

So how do you market?

How do you market? Simply put, you employ a communication tactic (let’s call this a marketing approach) directed toward a target audience, while measuring success based on attainment of a previously-defined outcome.

What kind of marketing approaches are there?

Examples of marketing approaches include traditional, well-known methods such as:

• e-mail blasts
• Print and banner ads
• Sponsorships and booths at trade shows.

Even cold calling can be viewed as a marketing approach.

But there are a lot of other marketing approaches that you can use.

Now, not every marketing approach is ideal for your enterprise and offering. In fact, before you make any decision as to the strategy you will use, consider that the right marketing activity for you is based on two factors – the particularities of the buyers you are targeting and where in the customer cycle they appear.

In upcoming posts, I’ll expand more on these two factors, and I’ll provide you with tips and guidance on how you can implement a great marketing strategy.

So stay tuned for more to come!

This is the first post of my blog series Communicate Your Awesomeness. Feel free to contact me directly if you’d like to have more discussions related to marketing!

Want even more? You can now sign up for a number of free and paid marketing services delivered by SAP and its trusted providers. Check out the SAP Partner Benefits Catalog or contact your PSA for more information!