Marketing or advertising: spot the difference

Russell Bell Photo/File

Marketing is an interesting discipline.

It is so much more than just being about making sales and turning over stock or services - it extends to a strategic understanding of your clients and customers and their preferences.

I know I am generalising with the above. This is because the training I received - as marketing and business development became a key component of my development with Deloitte - and the knowledge building I have done has shown me how it is essential that you back your investment in business development with expertise and experience.

I have been able to add significant value to clients who require assistance with matters marketing. That is also because the tools which were first introduced to me remain effective - even in an age where technology has changed how we market so materially.

When developing the strategic plan for "the Hub", we decided to take over and rebrand TGM Design Wanganui. The new business, Zenith Marketing and Design, is aligned with the strengths of the team (Stephanie, who is an expert in marketing and sales strategies; Des, who brings many years of experience in design and whose artwork is stunning; and Katy, our expert in cutting edge design).

We also have access to experts in web-based marketing and, through sister company Zenith Solutions, we can ensure that marketing and its tactical components (such as advertising) are consistent with and aligned to our client's strategic plan.

We are also experts in what is called "lean marketing" which harnesses the power and potential of lean/continuous improvement and applies it to your marketing efforts.

Too often marketing can be confused with advertising and what we have been able to do for clients is test the effectiveness of their current spend. There is no sense in spending big bucks on TV advertising if your clients and potential customers spend the bulk of their time downloading and watching TV shows on the net.

Zenith Design's palette of creative services is still wide and spans from branding through to promotional materials and on to professional business materials such as information memoranda and prospectuses.

We are excited about this step for "the Hub" (20 St Georges Gate - just off Bell St) which fits with our vision of having a venue where you can have any business question answered and any need served.

The business is now 100 per cent Wanganui owned and operated - this is extremely important to us.

Russell Bell's Zenith Solutions is a specialist Wanganui business advice and consultancy practice - 021 2442421.