10 Types of Marketing (10 Ways to Market your Business in Kenya)

We are going to look at the different types of marketing and how useful they can be to your business depending on the business model.

Without marketing, businesses wouldn’t make sales, that’s how important marketing is.

Marketing

Many argue that marketing is as old as trading (selling and buying) is. Well, that could be true but we don’t have data of how marketing was done during the barter trade era. We can however date traditional marketing to the years when print media was popular. Print media consist of reading materials like newspaper and magazines. In fact the newspapers and magazines depended solely on advertisements to make revenue. They were a platform for advertising.

What is marketing?

To put it simply, it is passing of information about a product or brand to an audience for the purpose of either raising awareness or making them want to purchase. That’s the simplest way to put it.

There are different types of marketing and their effectiveness vary depending on the type of audience being targeted There are two models of business that are well know today; that is B2C (Business to Customer) and B2B (Business to Business). Let’s look at how they convey information out there.

B2C vs B2B Marketing

As the name suggests, B2B businesses sell to other businesses while B2C businesses sell directly to an individual. The main question tackled by sales team from both sides is “what will make our prospect want to buy?” What makes an individual buy something is not the same reason a company/business would make a purchase, so the marketing has to be different.

B2C Marketing

Individual consumers reach a buying decision fast since they are the sole decision maker to their needs and desires.

B2C Marketing takes into account consumer emotions for instance in Kenya there is a popular Woolworths ad on TV for clothing and the ad ends with the words “Hurry while stock lasts.” This is a common way businesses make customers feel that they might miss out if they don’t make the purchase as soon a possible.

This kind of marketing does well on platforms where a large population is expected to be for instance social platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 90% of adverts you see on Kenyan TV stations like Citizen are B2C ads and they compete for the time when a lot of people are watching and that is in the evening when families are back home.

B2B Marketing

Unlike individuals who purchase base on emotions, companies make purchasing decisions based on logic. This is obvious since a lot can be at stake if a poor decision is made during the purchase. Before the decision is made, consultations have to be made within the business. Comparisons will also be made to make sure they get value for money with you compared to your competitors.

Seems hard to sell to businesses, right? Not really. Just focus on making the sale process as smooth as possible and offer more value at a reasonable price. Some sales process take weeks before a sale is closed while some take moths not to mention years.

Now you understand how different B2C and B2B Marketing are. Remember, Marketing should be a customized process and each business adopts Marketing types that suit them and their prospects. With that said, let’s look at the types of marketing you can implement in Kenya or anywhere around the world.

10 Types of Marketing That Work in Kenya

1. Social Media Marketing:
   • This type of marketing is not only popular in Kenya but everywhere else since it is cost friendly. There are social media platforms that are more suited for B2B Marketing while others are suited for B2C. We covered those used by B2C businesses earlier.
   • B2B businesses mostly market on LinkedIn and Facebook where company decision makers could be.
2. Search Engine Marketing:
   • This type cuts across all business models. The goal is to be found on Google Search Result Pages (SERP) when someone searches for a service or product you offer. It is important to rank among the top on the first page. You should optimize your landing pages for search engine and conversion.
3. Influencer Marketing:
   • This one has been used for long since TVs and Billboards started popping up everywhere. It is a brilliant way for brands to gain trust in a new market since influencers already have people’s trust.
   • Example of successful influencer Marketing is Eliud Kipchoge’s campaign for Nike. That was successful since Eliud is a renown runner whom most people would trust his recommendation when it comes to running shoes.
4. Email Marketing:
   • Email marketing gained popularity from the early ages of the Internet when emails were one of the few ways to communicate. Emails are still effective today and actually considered more formal among Kenyans compared to other means of communication.
   • Email marketing is intended to build a connection with your audience and convert them to loyal customers over time. For it to work, you need to create a legit email list of your real audience.
5. Content Marketing:
   • Involves publishing high quality useful content that would help solve your audience problems. If the reader finds the content useful they can move down the sales funnel by clicking the call to action button or visit your landing page.
   • Apart from publishing high quality content on your website, you can also publish on your social media pages too. Remember, content marketing requires consistency, publish useful content on a regular basis. This type of marketing is effective to both B2B and B2C business models.
6. Affiliate Marketing:
   • When other websites promote your brand or product for a fee, that is affiliate marketing. It however overlaps with influencer Marketing if the influencer Promotes your product or service on their social media page.
   • This type of marketing in Kenya is mostly used by B2C companies as it is intended to get information out there to the masses.
7. Public Relation:
   • Involves hosting events that will improve or build your brand’s reputation among masses. It takes your brand’s presence to the targeted audience and engages with them. A common example of a public relation event you might have seen is Safaricom or Coca-Cola’s roadshows.
   • One might think ” they are already big companies, why do they keep spending on roadshows and public relation ads on TV?” Well, it’s because they have a reputation to protect. To be a loved household name, you have to earn it.
8. Print Media:
   • This is as old as the first news papers ever published. Even though fewer newspapers are being published nowadays, print media marketing is still common on billboards, posters, magazines and even flyers.
   • Depending on what print media your brand’s information has been published on, the type of marketing can be effective for both B2B and B2C businesses.
9. TV and Radio:
   • This is also very old dating to the wooden Radios era. This is a very good form of marketing for both models of business since almost all households have both TV and radio or atleast possess one.
   • The only shortcoming to this type of marketing is the cost which is expensive compared to the rest of marketing types coverd here. If you can afford it, you should totally go for it.
10. Telemarketing:
    • We put this one last as it is quite unpopular since most people don’t appreciate cold calls. It is however still effective if the person making the call respectfully presents the intended information in a way that would interest the other party.

What it Takes For a successful Marketing Campaign

You should always keep in mind that there is never a one size fits all in Marketing. How you market to outfit lovers in Kenya is different from how it is done in Tanzania. The same is true for two different products in the same country.

Before starting your campaign it is recommended to carry out proper market segmentation that would help you come up with a proper marketing strategy. For professional marketing solutions in Kenya, we offer a wide range of marketing solutions, give us a call or send a text on +254110403666

Frequently Asked Questions