What is Marketing?
Definition of Marketing - Peter Drucker (Leading Management Thinker)
"Marketing is looking at the business through the customer's eyes."
Definition of Marketing - Philip Kotler (American Marketing guru)
"Marketing is the business function that identifies current unfulfilled needs and wants, defines and measures their magnitude, determines which target markets the organisation can best serve, and decides on appropriate products, services and programs to serve these markets. Thus marketing serves as the link between a society's needs an its pattern of industrial response."
Definition of Marketing - The UK's Chartered Institute of Marketing's Version
"The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirement profitability."
Marketing Description #1
A concept that the customer is of prime importance. Success comes from seeing every aspect of the business through the eyes of the customers, anticipating their needs and supplying what they want in a way they like; not simply trying to sell whatever someone has decided should be produced. This is no more than common sense. In different businesses "customers" encompass a number of different people or, in the case of business-to-business (B2B) marketing, organisations. Regardless of whether products or services are sold direct to the public or through agents, wholesalers and retailers, all organisations do best by embracing the marketing concept and demonstrating an intention to serve customers.
Marketing Description #2
A function responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably, which therefore is concerned with the process that implements the concept. This function must be directed from a senior level and take a broad view of the business. Someone must wear the marketing "hat", even if that person has other responsibilities as well. Whoever is involved and however matters are arranged, the final responsibility must be clear and sufficient time must be found to carry it out.
Marketing Description #4
A process that acts to "bring in the business" by using various techniques continuously, appropriately and creatively to make success more certain. Marketing cannot guarantee success, nor can it be applied by rote. The skill of those involved in Marketing lies in precisely how they act in an area that is rightly referred to as being as much an art as a science.
Marketing Description #3
A range of techniques, including not just selling and advertising but also market research, product development, pricing presentation and promotion (which encompasses advertising, merchandising, direct mail, public relations and sales promotion).
Marketing Description #5
A system that takes into account both internal and external factors, many of which restrict what can be done or achieved. This Marketing system links customers and potential customers with the company and attempts to reconcile any conflicts between them, such as the organisation's goal to maximize profits and the potential customer's desire to get the best value for money.
More than what it seems...
Marketing is a very misunderstood area of business and a kind of practice with more than one definition. Marketers often find that wrong assumptions are made about the nature of their role within a business. Marketing is often strongly connected with Advertising or simply selling - but it is more than just both of those subject areas. Many departments and people (outside of a Marketing department) are actually involved with Marketing itself and often influence it - whether they're aware of this fact or not - people forget that it is crucial that Marketing is not an isolated function but should be widely understood so that everyone can play their part and make the strategies related to the subject even more effective.