1.
Marketing is evolving each day.
A new marketing tactic takes birth within a few weeks
or months.
Perhaps, in future some people might coin new phrases
and say they’ve come up with an easier and better
approach to marketing, but the truth is - marketing
never changes.
At the core it’s still as old-school as it was years ago,
and has a solid base which can’t ever be shaken.
New marketing tactics will emerge, revolutionary
means of communication will arise, needs of
consumers will change, yet, in the end, it’ll always be
about a handful of things which matter.
Fundamentals control every marketing method which
has ever existed or will.
They’re the pillars on which all modern marketing
approaches which exist.
Marketing was done even in the Egyptian markets, and
even when Arabian merchants came to India to buy
spices.
No one owns the word and neither it is exclusive to a
set of people. The word itself derives its meaning from
how it’s used by individuals and organizations.

2.
You might be having your own theories and
assumptions about marketing fundamentals, but the
truth is simple.
So simple that marketers ignore it and don’t think it’s
worth their attention. Marketers are drowned in data
and are busy stressing about how they can get more
ROI.
They dive into details and often deny the importance of
thinking from a broader perspective while dealing with
their monotonous practices.
That’s when marketers need to think of the
fundamentals and start from there.
"Fundamentals are the factors which are common
at all levels of a hierarchy, either at the bottom or
at top.”
Which means, that the ways of implementing
marketing remain the same regardless of the type of
market or its size.
So even if you’re one person, a group of people running
a business together, or a fortune 500 company, there
are certain basic parts of marketing which should work
equally for you.

3.
If something differs then it isn’t a fundamental but
rather a fad which might die someday.
The points mentioned here are simple and based on a
single philosophy which states that all marketing
efforts must be made after giving a thorough thought
to the end result you wish to achieve.
Firstly, you make your final goal clear and then you
start acting from there – basically you follow a top-
down manner.
Once you figure out your main end points, you can start
working on tiny bits to find out what you need to do
next to achieve your specified end result.
You plan out the most important factors in the start
instead of leaving them to later. You work out all the
details afterwards.
Transparent marketing emphasizes on combining all
the three main aspects of marketing i.e. marketing,
sales and production to serve the customers in the best
possible way.

4.
It’s necessary to combine the bottom-up approach with
the top-down approach as it can make it easier for you
to come up with a suitable way to fulfill certain goals
after a few iterations.
Therefore, sticking to a single method would be
inconvenient. Arriving on a conclusion after going
through multiple iterations of both top-down and
bottom-up approaches is the best way to bring out the
most favorable results for yourself and your
customers.

5.
TLDR Version of the above paragraph
Be flexible enough to adapting certain ways,
philosophies or tactics – there’s never a perfect way or
flawless strategy. You just keep experimenting and do
more of what works.

6.
. . .
A LIST OF MARKETING
FUNDAMENTALS
WHICH WON’T EVER
CHANGE
. . .

7.
“Accessibility refers to the overall accessibility of your
products and services altogether.”
The more accessible you are, the easier it becomes for
you and your customers to communicate and transact
with each other.
The reason why restaurants open new franchise and
food chains is because they desire to be accessible to
people in various regions – they want to be available to
their customers.
The same is the reason why certain local stores have
various branches within a geographical area, because

8.
they’re focused on making more profits within their
target region.
The cause why most shops select a dominating place is
pretty simple - it gives them a greater exposure to
people, which in turn increases their chances of
growth.
The concept of accessibility works in a universal
manner.
Which means, everything related to your marketing
efforts is likely to achieve success based on how
accessible it is.
Increased accessibility increases the chances for
marketers to achieve greater sales by providing ease
and convenience to customers. This creates a win/win
environment for both.
For instance, by expanding at a global level, not only
has Amazon increased its chances of success but also
provided ease and convenience to its customers.
The products which are easily available to
customers sell more
Suppose you’ve launched a book, then if the
paperback-lovers cannot access it because it’s only
available online, then you miss out all the chances of
offline success.

9.
Similarly, if you’ve published paperbacks but don’t
have enough copies to fulfil the demand, then the
accessibility of your book reduces naturally.
So if you make your book available on all possible
platforms, then you leverage its accessibility to benefit
yourself and your customers.
Accessibility of services directly impact sales
Customers hesitate to buy from you when you’re out of
their reach. This is among the major reasons why most
brands need to have their offices at multiple places.
Also, if your find a way to stay in your customers’ touch
and are available to them easily, then they’ll interact
more with you and develop a sense of trust.
It doesn’t matter which parts of your services – it might
be repairing of the commodities they buy from you,
how readily you can solve their problems, or whether
you’re capable of providing attention to them
whenever they need your services.
The undeniable importance of ease and
convenience
Accessibility is a combined outcome of ease and
convenience - as these are main factors which affect
how much your customers use your services, and also
the frequency of their purchases of products from you.

10.
Suppose your vending machines are available across a
city but your customers don’t know how to use it, then
it’ll directly affect the frequency of your sales.
In this case, although you’ve leveraged your
accessibility, you haven’t provided ease and
convenience to your customers.
Therefore to achieve your target of selling more, you
either need to educate your customers, or you need to
make the process simpler than it is.
Though, out of the two mentioned ways, it’s better to
ease the processes which your customers need to
complete instead of teaching them the hard way.
For instance, building websites wasn’t so easy a few
years back, but now it far simpler due to automated
methods. Due to which the internet has grown
significantly.
The role of accessibility in marketing success
Where do get your groceries from? Chances are,
probably from your nearest grocery store, unless you
have a better option like Walmart available. That’s how
accessibility works. The success of marketing attempts
is greatly based on accessibility provided to the
customers.
Online stores allow cash on delivery service to the
customers who don’t have a bank account, or who lack
the availability of the internet.

11.
This in turn makes them accessible to those customers
and henceforth increases their sales.
How accessibility works on the internet
You wouldn’t have been reading this blog right now if
you had no internet connection, right? However,
internet is nothing more than a mean of
communication which has made this blog accessible to
you.
Now, if I had asked you to sign up so that you could
read this post then would you have signed up? Maybe,
but not everyone would do the same. Some people hate
subscribing to a random site they don’t know much
about.
So a signup form would’ve increased a barrier and
reduced the accessibility of my website to the readers.
Same is with other elements of a website.
A captcha seems alright to avoid spam, but it creates
another barrier and discourages readers from
commenting to some extent.
Your chances of gaining more followers increase when
you make your social media profile visible in the
sidebar, this reduces a barrier for them as they don’t
need to find you by themselves since you’ve already
made it easy for them to follow you.
Also, the frequency of the actions your prospects take
is dependent on accessibility.

12.
Like, if your customers find your online transaction
process easy and convenient then will be naturally
inclined to deal with you again. But if they find the
process painful, then they’ll avoid doing any further
transactions on your site.
Accessibility has a major role in advertising and also
ensures a wider exposure. You don’t put a banner of
your company amid the dunes of sands in a desert.
Instead, you put them right there, on the top of a
building, where people can easily notice them.
I’ll soon write a post specifically about accessibility in
marketing. Subscribe to the newsletter to get it in your
inbox.

13.
“Communication is the access to connect with you
customers”
Communication is an important part without which all
other marketing attempts fail.
Not finding a path to communicate with the customers
is similar to being invisible. There’s one golden thing
every other marketer is striving hard for – attention.
You have already seen those vendors shouting in
bazaars, and the biggest companies showing lengthy
commercials.
They’re just trying to get their shot of attention, even if
that means initiating a one-sided conversation.

14.
Getting noticed is a basic step – nothing more
Getting noticed has its own value, but it isn’t enough.
Each day you see several commercials and banners
while traveling.
You see them while reading a newspaper or while
watching the television, but do you take all of them
seriously enough? Exactly.
Those ads might grab your attention temporarily but
they fail to communicate with you.
Does this mean advertising is ineffective? No, though
it’s a one-sided form of communication. Advertising
rightfully gets you the attention you’ve been waiting
for, but after that, you can only get what you deserve.
If you succeed in influencing your customers, you
thrive, else you don’t.
Communication, in spite of being the first step to
effective marketing, is dependent on all the other
fundamental factors.
For example, you can successfully spend a whole
evening convincing a customer and resolve all his
questions, yet he won’t buy your product if he doesn’t
find it useful.
How communication derives its usefulness
Communication is the beginning to everything –
whether it’s a step towards making more sales, gaining

15.
the trust of customers, or telling your customers more
about what you do.
It’s that point where marketing begins.
Your chances of success increase with your increase of
communication with the customers.
The firms which have a chance to communicate longer
have better opportunities. This is the sole reason why
advertisements are used. Businesses pay advertisers to
shift the attention of people to what the businesses sell.
It all boils down to getting into the minds and hearts of
people and making them think of you.
The rest of your success depends on other factors like,
does your pitch influence your ideal customers? Or are
you able to able to convey your message to them?
Markets are always chaotic and filled with noise,
customers are mostly confused and baffled, while
marketers keep hunting for opportunities.
Communication resolves this chaos. It does the job of
creating awareness among the customers and helps
them discover what’s right for them.
Influence is the key to successful communication
If there’s one key which determines effectiveness of
communication then it’s the influence of
communication.

16.
In real world it’s easier to influence people as you have
a chance to directly interact with them. Similarly, when
means change, your methods of interacting with your
customers change too.
Take the mediums like radio, brochures or internet for
example – they all work differently.
Though, as the means of communication change, the
layers between marketers and customers increase
after which your chances of directly affecting your
customers vary gradually.
Yet, if you can influence your customers in spite of all
the possible barriers then there’s barely anything
would affect your chances of success.
Also, don’t be mistaken to think that influence is only
about having a recognized authority in a certain arena
or being the best – because it’s not.
More than those things, it’s about creating a lasting
touch which your customers won’t forget. Making an
offer they don’t stop thinking about. Or providing value
due to which they trust you at once.
No matter what means you use or how you
communicate, if you persuade your customers
righteously and make them confident about you, then
consider that your efforts paid off.
Role of interactivity in communication

17.
Communication must be done by both sides to be
effective.
Emails, television, newspaper, telephone and all such
means are used to connect with the customers. Yet,
they bring out the results only when the people
interact with you again.
Customer satisfaction can only be achieved through
interaction with the customers. You need to clear their
doubts and inform them about their welfare so they
can make decisions on their own.
Although communication is automated nowadays, and
perhaps, even other aspects such as sales will soon be
completely dominated by computers, communication

18.
still remains the underlying principle which affects the
buying decisions of customers.
To any business or marketing phenomena,
communication is a part of the chain which cannot be
skipped. Communication breeds awareness and trust,
which is always followed by progressive responses.
That’s how marketing has been working till now, and
will continue to do so till eternity.
Listen
People delete mails, surveys tell you about them, and
their actions are used as data. What does this all mean?
It means that you’re always communicating with your
customers – either through your offers, content or
marketing materials.
Customers are always signaling directly or indirectly –
about what they want, what their interests are and
what they’re expecting – however marketers get so
busy blowing their own trumpets that they forget to
gather the invaluable insights from their customers.
The most important voice, i.e. the voice of the
customers, gets lost amid the shouts of the market.
So the best way to communicate with your customers
is to listen to them first.
Listen to what they say. Find out what they want. Be
prepared to fulfil their expectations.

19.
“Quality means the grade of outcomes and the overall
experience your customers go through.”
Quality isn’t a standalone term. Neither is it limited to
excellent products and services.
This ranges everything from the initial interaction to
the post-sales services.
Falling short in any of the stages of an overall
consumer lifecycle can create a negative impact on the
customers and make them consider abandoning your
services.
However, that won’t affect you much if you’ve already
earned the loyalty of your customers using transparent

20.
methods. Customers are usually ready to overlook
some of your flaws.
Still, selling and marketing bad products is like forcing
your customers to buy them.
Providing poor services is equal to taking their
presence for granted.
Leaving out the welfare of your customers for a slight
high profit is the deterioration of your own future.
When certain companies get better, their value
increases. When they don’t, they fall. The rule has been
simple since the beginning.
Quality matters.
How quality determines marketing success
People make up their views about you as they perceive
what you do and who you are.
They form certain image about you in their minds, after
which they decide whether they should choose your
services or products in future.
They notice every little thing related to your brand and
your company as they go through various experiences.
For instance, your pitches and content somehow
indicate how concerned you are about your business.

21.
The type of commercials and advertisements you
create make viewers understand your image and aim
in the current market.
People are keen about quality at every step, in any
form.
The world is controlled by perception. It judges a book
by its cover – it’s the natural behavior of people.
Customers don’t compromise and try to get the best. So
by default, you’re supposed to give them what they’re
searching for – the best.
The purpose of quality
In truth, sales, marketing and production work
altogether.
Being ignorant towards any one of these three aspects
is a serious drag to the probability of growth.
When you’re part of any one department and pretend
like you’re untouched by the other two, you only
worsen things further.
Your customers see you as one.
It doesn’t concern them whose fault is it why their
demands aren’t being fulfilled, because it’s none of
their business. If something goes wrong then they’d
likely become unhappy.

22.
Why do customers become unhappy? It happens when
quality is compromised. It occurs when various
departments of a business are out of balance.
It’s obvious.
Quality plays an immense role in escalating or
shattering your hopes.
No matter how invincible your marketing strategies
are, they aren’t standalone and are required to be
nurtured through other aspects as well.
You can’t create a rubbish product and expect it to sell.
And you can’t make a great innovation and wait for
people to magically know about it.
You shouldn’t.
Quality is achieved by blending in everything from the
first step towards creating to the last stage of selling,
and beyond.

23.
“Values are the ideals and principles based on which
businesses function”
Organizations work like individual bodies.
Principles and culture - these two powerful words can
bring stability to any organization.
Once you decide your mission, you make your goals
and intentions clear. You give a clear indication to your
employees about your motives when you know what
your values are.
More than that, you make it easy for your customers to
judge you based on who you are. You reveal your
identity, open up your secrets and vulnerabilities and

24.
let people decide whether or not they wish to be a part
of what you’re doing.
How inculcating values forms a work culture
When marketers do what they do, and choose certain
ways, they set up a work culture in their organization.
With every step they take towards growing their
profits, finding ways to sell more or to gain more
customers, they’re also setting an example for the
others on the board to follow.
A culture gets established even when no significant
effort is put in creating it. Once it is formed, everyone
begins to notice it, including the customers.
The culture dissolves in all activities and mingles in the
practices of employees. A culture becomes a blueprint
for methods and behaviors of teams, after which every
step is motivated by the values which you adapt to.
The necessity of principles and culture
You can’t expect your customers to be sure about what
you do if you aren’t yourself aware of it.
You need to have principles for that.
The reason for creating a mission statement, telling
your customers about your goals or motivating your
employees to abide by certain rules and manners is a
way to setting up a set of principles.

25.
A lack of principles breeds disorganization in your
company, and mistrust or uncertainty in your
customers.
Therefore, if you wish to achieve a certain clarity then
creating a culture based on specific principles is the
quickest way to do so.
Your culture is also capable of connecting your
customers emotionally.
If you can serve them based on the values they respect
and create a movement they wish to be a part of then
they’re yours.
You might have seen those people who remain loyal to
companies even when those companies fall short of
serving them or fulfilling the needs of customers, that
sort of loyalty is an asset which acts like a shield when
you’re vulnerable.
Also, people stay loyal because of the way they’re
treated by certain businesses.
Are values actually a fundamental trait in
marketing?
The answer is fairly visible – yes. It is a fundamental.
Most marketing methods indicate some sort of traits
which distinguish them from the rest.
For instance, MLM and pyramid marketing schemes
are seen as something fraudulent and bogus.

26.
Referral marketing is thought of as a nice way to save
the advertising and marketing costs. But it fails to
create a lasting connection with customers.
Word of mouth marketing is what companies
ultimately crave for as it’s the most genuine way to
earn the loyalty of newer customers.
If you observe, most of the marketing types and
strategies implemented are directly affected by the
nature of companies.
Some companies make serving their customers a
priority. Some give more importance to profits. Some
are focused on short term goals.
Business consists of a lot of elements.
Where do these elements originate from? From the
nature of a company. Companies act like individuals.
So why did some brands choose one way over the
other and vice-versa? Because they were made that
way. Or they had become such.
All the bits that a company keeps adding to itself end
up forming it. However, it all begin from the values
which it follows.
Values decide what a company is heading towards and
what it will become.

27.
Your values make you
You may think that it’s your business that determines
the rules and values in your work – however it works
more effectively the other way i.e. your values frame
the way things are done in your business.
For instance, Tesla’s founders advocate the growth of
sustainable energy, so they made electric cars.
McDonald’s mission statement is pretty simple – “to be
our customers' favorite place and way to eat and
drink.” So they work towards their goal and rightfully
stand among the top food franchisees of the world.
Zara spends little on advertising, and focuses its
spending on opening stores near high-end retailers
instead.
Google came up with its code of conduct in the year
2000, which said “don’t be evil.” And Google still seems
to abide by it.
Overall, everyone is doing almost the same things –
creating, selling and hoping for the best.
Yet, what makes every business distinct are the values,
ethics and principles which they accept as a part of
their identity.

28.
“Educating refers to the amount of awareness
marketers create among their customers regarding the
existing market.”
Every step or decision taken by your customers is
based on the education they possess about you, your
products and the market.
In such a situation, while your customers are still
finding what’s appropriate for them, it’s necessary for
you to inform them with what need to know.
Empower them and help them make the right decisions
– whether it be about products, services, usage, policies

29.
or anything that’s a part of what you do and affects the
customers.
Mostly, the more you educate your customers the
greater your chances of your marketing success are. It
allows them to make better choices for themselves.
Your role throughout their buying process is to guide
them.
The advantage of educating customers
The amount of trust your customers have in you is
dependent on how much they know you. This also
determines how soon they’ll feel connected to you.
Then there’s one more benefit to it. The one which is
useful to you as well as your customers.
Educating empowers both of you - it helps your
customers make better decisions, and it gives you a
chance to explain your plans and offers honestly.
In the end, it’s the people who educate the customers
who are likely to control the flow of markets, as they
become the trailblazers and get people on their side.
Also, this makes the market a fair place to deal in, since
it’s you who tells people who they need or what they
should do, but leave the decision-making to them.
Your job remains to educate them, to take them
towards something better than what they have, and
finding the best way to serve them at the same time.

30.
The brighter side
The more your customers know about you and your
product, the more connected they feel. They slowly
build a bond of trust with you – we call that a brand.
But at the bottom of the word ‘brand’ – there’s some
love, respect and loyalty. The more they know you, the
easier it becomes for them to decide whether they
should rely on you.
Uneducated customers aren’t an enticing opportunity
but rather a responsibility for marketers. Teach them.
Make them aware of the ground that you hustle on.
Give them what they deserve.
If you’re wrong, admit it and move on. Your customers
would give you another chances when you do that. It’s
the brighter side of everything.
The disguised advantage of educating customers
Most people in the industry stress more on selling
rather than educating their customers – that gives
them quick outcomes and fulfills their ultimate motive
– selling.
Though, what they often underestimate is the loyalty
they could be earning if they put enough effort in
helping their customers find what they really need.
This might even mean giving a lead to the competitors
sometimes.

31.
Most of the companies which are really concerned
about serving would firstly try to fulfill the need of
their consumers and come up with the right products
in the market, because they educate themselves first
about the market and prevent sacrificing quality.
Eventually, the brands which create awareness among
their customers about the situation in current market
are the ones which are likely to achieve more trust and
attention, which can give them an added advantage of
selling more.

32.
“Need is the neutral demand for something.”
Needs can always be marketed more easily than
anything superfluous. In fact, needs are what don’t
need to be marketed – and that’s an advantage.
A product that people would crave for, and what
people know is an ultimate solution to wash-off their
problems, is a product that’s worth creating.
Your priority must be creating something to serve your
customers in the best way you can, not just to
dominate you competition or to gain greater profits.
You set an example by doing so.

33.
Why focusing on needs is your best bet
Needs are what people wish to fulfill before anything.
Before luxuries or comforts or the decorative stuff,
comes need. It’s hard for people to be at ease unless
their needs are fulfilled.
The moment you create what serves their needs, you
fill a gap. You provide a solution that was awaited.
People buy solutions – more than that, they want to get
rid of their problems - that’s the reason why needs are
the easiest to market.
Customers might not always spend their money on
something that they aren’t sure might be useful to
them, but they’d do it for their needs.
They’d happily pay you if they come to know that your
products and services are capable of lessening their
pains or hassles.
Innovate, come up with enough ways to lessen their
struggles and try making their life easier - you’d barely
need to market things.
Usefulness is easier to sell.
How need affects the selling process
No matter what your product or service is – it’s less
likely to fail as long as it is needful.
What if it’s not?

34.
Actually, all products are made while keeping a certain
demand in sight. That demand is equivalent to need for
the particular consumers who buy it.
Which means, that though there might not be a strong
need for something in the market, it can even be
created. Sometimes even artificially.
Yet, a major amount of people will always be attracted
to the products and services which rectify problems at
a basic level.

35.
“Attraction is about making people want what your
create”
This is the major reason why marketing originated.
While there are products and services that can be sold,
they often don’t get the amount of attention and
growth they deserve – that’s when marketing comes in.
Marketing is ultimately help vendors sell what they
create. It’s about putting efforts in getting what you
deserve – whether it be attention or success.
Why attracting matters
The world is ignorant.

36.
Competition is high. People are busy. Amid all this,
marketers are constantly struggling to get their brands
and products noticed.
They’re trying to make people realize the worth of
what companies do.
But it doesn’t happen automatically. They’re supposed
to do something to get what they want.
They need to attract people.
Because without it, they’d remain buried under the
thick layer of chaos and their existence wouldn’t
matter.
Why appeal is essential
It isn’t necessary to mislead customers though. There’s
a difference between deception and attraction.
Let’s say we’re selling something, then grown-ups can
decide what’s right for them. But children can’t - you
need to attract them in some way.
So you use colors, cartoons, and make everything look
fun and lively. You make things beautiful and fancy.
You get that.
Similarly, your way of attracting people can be via
presentation, emphasizing the benefits, assurance, or
any of the several available ways.

37.
In short, you constantly need to come up with new
ways to attract. For every person and every market,
there exists a right way to attract.
Pleasing deserves to be a part of marketing, delusion
doesn’t. Although there aren’t any standards that can
define ‘ethical ways to attract,’ it isn’t hard to figure out
what’s right and what isn’t.
What’s the right way to attract?
There are barely any universal standards that bind
creativity.
However, if you observe closely how the market works
then you’d notice enough factors affecting the overall
commercial processes.
It can be about pricing, some unique features,
advantage over similar products, lifestyle of target
customers, etc.
You can use these factors of the commercial process to
find out what details you should be considering to
come up with creative ways to attract people.
Then, from those obvious details, you find a way
connect with your ideal customers and to form an
image.
Attract - the latter processes follow that.

38.
These were the unshakable fundamentals of marketing.
The ones that won’t ever vanish. Because a medley of all
of them and a few other elements is what we call
marketing.
Now, the next I want you to do is subscribing to the
newsletter of this site - if think I've earned your
attention.

39.
Hi there,
I’m Vishal Ostwal.
I’m a writer, blogger and the kind of person whose
name rhymes with his surname.
Click here to visit my LinkedIn Profile or to hire me.
I write and do content marketing stuff. Ask me maybe.
Not everyone needs to hire me. Honestly. If there’s
anything I can help you with, then please let me know.
I’m trying to be a better human.
Send me a tweet on twitter!