The profits of a business are totally dependent on marketing. Otherwise few, if any, sales will be generated. But what is marketing anyway?

Marketing is doing what it takes to convince enough customers to pay the necessary price for your products and/or services to produce the desired profits for the business.

Let's discuss the 8 Secrets business owners can use to greatly improve their marketing success.

Secret #1: Give marketing top priority. The primary reason any customer chooses to buy your products or services is because of effective marketing. The marketing process starts at the very beginning and continues forever! Marketing consists of four separate functions, known as the four P's:

1. Product - Develop your products and/or services to ensure they fill the needs of your potential customers, so they will want to buy from your business. You have full control over this marketing function.

2. Pricing - Set your price structure to ensure that the business will achieve the desired profits and that customers will perceive the value of the benefits they receive to be greater than the prices they pay. You have full control over this marketing function.

3. Positioning - Position your products and/or services to allow potential customers easy interaction with the business to evaluate and purchase your products or services. You have full control over this marketing function.

4. Promotion - The final step is promotion, where you communicate with your potential customers (normally through a communications medium) about the existence and benefits of your products or services to attract them to contact your business to learn more. You will have only partial control over this marketing function.

Marketing is culminated in sales when your customers