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About marketing

Marketing means the activities you do to promote your business, products or services. It includes advertising, branding, public relations, social media and other things you do to drive sales.

Good marketing tells a story about your business and gives customers a reason to purchase from you instead of your competitors.

It also requires research, careful planning and a clear understanding of your target market. But investing time and money in marketing will pay off in the long term.

Creating a marketing plan helps you define your market, messages and activities for reaching target customers.

Legal rules for marketing

Your marketing activities need to follow relevant laws and regulations. Here are some of the main things to be aware of.

Make sure you don’t mislead your customers when you advertise your products or services.

You may also need a permit for some types of advertising, such as brochures, flyers or bill posters.

Find out more in our full list of legal rules for advertising.

Your state or territory government regulates these types of promotions. Depending on the value of the prize, you may need a permit to run one.

Get a permit through the Australian Business Licence Information Service (ABLIS).

Direct marketing means using someone’s personal details to market to them directly.

Common types of direct marketing are email, text messages, physical mail and phone calls (telemarketing).

Before you do any direct marketing, check if your business needs to comply with the Privacy Act to protect customers’ personal information.

Find out more about handling customer information.

If you’re marketing to customers through email or text messages, you must comply with spam rules.

If you’re marketing to customers over the phone, you need to respect the Do Not Call Register.

The Do Not Call Register lists phone numbers whose owners don’t want to receive telemarketing calls. If you call a number on the register, you may have to pay a fine.

Trade marks

If you’re creating a brand, business name or website, make sure you’re not infringing on anyone else’s trade mark.

IP Australia’s TM Checker tool lets you search existing Australian trade marks for any that are similar to your proposed brand.

Using someone else’s IP

You might want to use someone else’s IP in your marketing. For example, you’d like to include a popular song in an advertisement.

You’re generally not allowed to use someone’s IP without permission. Doing so would infringe on their IP rights.

International IP

Different countries have different IP laws. If you’re marketing your business overseas, make sure you comply with their IP laws, including trade mark laws.

IP Australia has information on international IP.

The EU GDPR is a set of data protection rules for the EU.

Your business may need to comply with the GDPR if you:

  • have an establishment in the EU
  • offer goods or services in the EU
  • monitor the behaviour of people in the EU on the internet.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has more information on how the EU GDPR may affect your business.

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