What is Marketing?

Marketing to children has more than doubled since 1992

How would you explain marketing? The first few words that usually pop into a person's head are 'marketing equals sales!' Marketing is NOT just personal selling or even just advertising. Most people define marketing in a very limited way. Marketing includes activities such as public relations, sales promotion, advertising, social media, pricing, distribution and many other functions.

Companies have increased their marketing budgets dramatically. For example, it is estimated that companies spend over 15 billion dollars annually on marketing to JUST KIDS. This is an increase of over 2.5 times more than they were spending in 1992. The cumulative function of marketing is to communicate, deliver and create value to the consumer. In addition, companies must take into consideration their employees, stakeholders and society. The most successful companies around engage in very consumer-oriented marketing. They spend enormous amounts of time, money and resources examining the everyday lives of their customers and create products to fill a need. Examples of companies that are known for creative, leading-edge marketing are Disney, Pepsi, Apple and Procter & Gamble.

The Four P's

Marketing is made up of four elements: product, place, promotion and price. The elements must be used in a cohesive plan to effectively target the consumer. A product can be either a physical product or service. Place is where the product is purchased. Price is the amount a consumer pays for the product and promotion consists of the communication tools used to effectively get the company's message out.

Official Definition of Marketing

The official definition of marketing is it is a philosophy whose main focus is providing customer satisfaction. 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. Also included in the definition are all of the activities that help businesses reach their target market effectively.

Exchange

The ultimate outcome for marketing is when a successful exchange occurs. For example, today you desire a fast food lunch. As a consumer, you must give up something to receive something that you would rather have. Most consumers will relinquish money to receive a product or service. In order for the exchange to qualify as successful, there are some basic rules that must be met: