Many starting entrepreneurs confuse marketing with advertising or promotions. Unfortunately, this popular misconception brings catastrophic failure to so many startups nowadays. Actually, marketing is a lot more than that!

Marketing is all about cohesiveness of major factors involving people (employees and employers), price, place, promotion (advertising), and product. This is the heart of many powerful corporations like Procter & Gamble, Nike, Disneyland and McDonald’s.

Marketing is more critical with starting businesses. Up against established competitors, you cannot compete against their hefty promotions budget and its sheer size. You need to differentiate your products so consumers will patronize it.

One of the cost-effective ways to market your business is:

Create a Unique Experience

Ever visited a store where you feel so relaxed and comfortable? Every wonder why many people are willing to pay more for a cup of Starbucks? Sometimes, it is not about your product, it is all about the experience.

The Starbucks Experience turned a commodity like coffee to cravings. Imagine a relaxing, ambient place where you can hang out and drink coffee with your friends or romantic partners while listening to jazz or some soothing music. Wonderful, right?

Now, bring this lesson to your products or services. Create a compelling experience that will make your customers go back again and again.

Based on the article entitled The Three "Ds" of Customer Experience by Harvard Business School, the following defines a “superior experience”:

1. They design the right offers and experiences for the right customers.

2. They deliver these propositions by focusing the entire company on them with an emphasis on cross-functional collaboration.

3. They develop their capabilities to please customers again and again—by such means as revamping the planning process, training people in how to create new customer propositions, and establishing direct accountability for the customer experience.