What Is Marketing?
January 26th, 2009
About a month ago, I posted a challenge on LinkedIn Discussions (actually, getting a discussion going in LinkedIn Discussions can be the real challenge, but that’s a separate post). I asked members of the eMarketing Association Network to define “marketing” in 50 words or less.
My own initial stab at it:
Marketing encompasses every way in which a company communicates with its customers and potential customers — and, for that matter, its ex-customers. That includes everything from advertising to press releases to Web sites to live presentations and countless other things in between and beyond.
Some of the more interesting responses:
Marketing is everything that a company does to encourage potential clients (new or repeat) to take action indicating their interest in a product or service. Once that action is taken, the prospect becomes the responsibility of the sales function.
Marketing is… creating desire.
Everything you see, hear or experience from and about a company, brand, product, etc. that drives your perception.
Achieving your own (or your company’s) objectives by satisfying someone else’s needs, with social responsibility.
Marketing is the art of influencing someone to act.
Marketing is a set of specific processes to first define the problem (something I have not seen done well or often in my decades of experience, BTW) in terms of objectives and metrics, then create solutions (in the form of strategies and tactics) focused on achieving those objectives.
Marketing is the art of orchestrating the web of relationships between a company and its global business ecosystem. It therefore supports, creating the offering, building and maintaining the company’s reputation, brand equity and advocacy with varied target audiences, and creating the best possible situations to generate revenue.
Marketing is the science and art of optimizing relationships, perception and reputation.
I like Peter Drucker’s definition of marketing: To create and keep customers.
For the record, here’s the American Marketing Association’s official definition of marketing:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.