“ Marketing is not an event, but a process…It has a beginning, a middle, but never and end, for it is a process. You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely. “
To save time and head aches, there are many widely accepted definitions of marketing and we are positive that anyone can find a good satisfying definition if required to do so.
The Chartered Institute of marketing defines marketing as “ the management process responsible for indentifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”.
“ Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others”
Philip Kotler
You need effective marketing if you want to grow your business in a thoughtful and sustainable way. For example, good marketing will ensure that all the functions involved in your business are able to work at their best level of productivity – manufacturing will be able to make the correct number of widgets to meet demand, sales will be able to sale those widgets for the best possible price, customers will be delighted and continue to buy from you as you introduce new exciting products.
Marketing is not about selling as many poor quality products to as many unsuspecting customer as possible. It is not about creating a hullabaloo about a product or service, which cannot live up to the hype. Nor is marketing about developing products which seen like a good idea based solely on enthusiasm of staff.
Marketing is also not something you pay attention to for only a few minutes of a day or fit in between ‘real’ work. Nor is it a black art, only to be mentioned in hushed tones.
If you want to raise the level of the conversation, you could introduce a little philosophy of marketing and quote the greatly respected Peter Drucker:
“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. “
Your aim should be to become a truly ‘customer-centric’ company. This is important because if you understand what your customer want, you can deliver the best products or services to them. Satisfied customer will come back, again and again.
