Many people around the world think that Marketing is just about advertising. Marketing and advertising are not the same. Many other people think that Marketing is about selling products only. Marketing is not just about selling goods and services. These are incorrect perspectives because these views are very limited as they only tell a part of what Marketing really is.
Marketing fulfills the demand when it comes to human needs and creates the demand when it comes to human wants. That is why the customers are of vital importance to marketers. Good marketers create temptation for customers to buy their products. You should keep that in mind.
Textbook definitions of Marketing
Interestingly, every single Marketing definition always places the customer in the center of all business operations.
In fact, there are hundreds of definitions of marketing with each business textbook having its own. Here are a few popular ones:
‘Marketing is not a function, it is the whole business seen from the customer’s point of view. Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity at all. It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise. ’
by Peter Drucker
‘Marketing is the process of researching into identifying consumers needs and employing appropriate price, product, place and promotion strategies in order to satisfy these needs profitably.’
by Peter Stimpson
‘This customer focused philosophy is known as the ‘marketing concept’. The marketing concept is a philosophy, not a system of marketing or an organizational structure. It is founded on the belief that profitable sales and satisfactory returns on investment can only be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and desires.’
by Matthew Barwell
‘Marketing is the process of learning about your customers and competitors, so that you can provide the right products at the right price in the right place, promoted in the right way to achieve your business objectives.’
by Ian Marcouse
‘Marketing is a management process involved in identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably.’
by Rob Jones, Carl Raffo and Dave Hall
My definition of Marketing
Here is the definition of Marketing that I came up with after teaching business management for over 10 years.
1. Finding out what people need and want.
The core purpose of all marketing activities is associated with identifying and anticipating of what current and potential customers need and want. Effective Market Research is needed to find out and analyze the particular requirements of target customers.
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2a. To give people what they need and want.
Marketing as the management process is then responsible for fulfilling customers’ needs and wants profitably to achieve the business aim after meeting business objectives. Businesses must offer to customers the right product at the right price in the right place and at the right time. This is achieved through creating an appropriate Marketing Mix for goods including Product, Price, Place and Promotion, and an appropriate Marketing Mix for services including Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Process, People and Physical Environment.
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2b. While doing the additional marketing-related tasks.
Marketing also involves a number of related management functions including Sales Forecasting, product development and design, customer service, branding, packaging, distribution, customer relationship, after-sale services, etc.
Why is Marketing important?
- Connecting with customers. Marketing connects the business with its customers. Marketing as the process also aligns a business to its internal environment and external environment, and links the firm with all business stakeholders.
- Creating a customer-focused organization. All marketing activities are founded on the belief that profit can best be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and wants. A company which adopted this concept and philosophy places the customer at the center of all business decisions. Customers need to permeate all levels and functions in the organization. Marketing Managers need to coordinate and integrate all marketing activities that might affect the customer.
- Interconnecting with other business functions. Marketing is an essential function for every business organization. Both for-profit commercial organizations, for-profit social organizations and non-profit social organizations use principles and practices of Marketing. Marketing affects all aspects of the business. Because Marketing is such a strategic business function – interconnected with other business functions including Finance, Human Resource (HR) and Production – it must always be given a great importance.
- Impacting business objectives. Marketing often leads to new strategic business objectives of the whole business that impact on production methods, influence human resource planning and change the financial situation of the whole firm.
- Connecting with the world. As business activity becomes more and more international as a result of globalization, international marketing has grown in its significance in the past couple of years. These days, marketing strategies equally influence consumers both in the home country as well as in foreign markets.
The Marketing process
Marketing includes much more than just a business trying to tell people through advertising to buy its products. It is a very important business activity. In the very basic way, Marketing involves building relationships with customers.
Find a human need or want.
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Conduct Market Research.
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Design the product to meet the need or want based on the Market Research.
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Conduct product testing.
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Determine the brand name and design packaging.
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Set an appropriate price.
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Select an appropriate distribution channel.
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Design an appropriate promotional campaign.
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Build the relationship with the customer(s).
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Maintain the relationship with the customer(s).
From the above chart, it is seen that Marketing is a process which does not have a start or an end, but is ongoing all the time. Marketing is more like a business philosophy – a way of thinking about how to satisfy customers’ needs and wants, and do it profitably for business owners.
One last sentence to sum up, business organizations and their marketing managers need to develop marketing knowledge and application to business situations in order to make correct marketing decisions for solving marketing problems.
