A simple lesson in marketing, brought to you by P.T. Barnum

August 25, 2010 | Posted by Carolyn Pikoulas
The terms "advertising," "marketing," "promotion," "public relations" and "publicity" are often grouped into one pile. They do refer to different activities. However, they all work toward a common goal - sales. Nobody knows the art of selling better than P.T. Barnum of the old Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

P.T. Barnum once said that "without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!" Of course the means by which we promote our businesses has changed over the years, the rule still applies. The easiest way to explain marketing is through a popular story that goes as follows:

"If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying 'Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday', that's ADVERTISING.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that's PROMOTION.

If the elephant walks through the mayor's flower bed, that's PUBLICITY.

And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that's PUBLIC RELATIONS.

If the town's citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths and explain how much fun they'll have spending money at the booths, so they spend a lot at the circus, that's SALES."

(If you planned the whole thing, that's MARKETING).

In other words...
ADVERTISING: Bringing a product or service to the attention of potential and current customers.

PROMOTION: Keeping the product or service in the minds of the customer to help stimulate demand.

PUBLICITY: Mentioning the product or service in the media, keeping in mind that there is oftentimes little control over the message in the media compared to advertising because reporters and writers are the ones who decide what should be said.

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Helping the public to understand the company and its products, often through outlets like newspapers, magazines, and news-oriented blogs and websites.

SALES: Cultivating prospective buyers; conveying the features and benefits of a product or service to the buyer; and closing the sale (or coming to agreement on price).

MARKETING: The wide range of activities involved in making sure that your business stays in front of your customers. Activities include: research to find out who your potential customers are, where they can be reached, what their needs are, and how your company can find a niche in the marketplace.