What is Marketing?
First of all, it should be said that there is actually no single answer to the question of “what is marketing?” If we explain the question briefly, It can be said that marketing is everything. Actually, the definition of marketing in the full sense is as follows;
“Marketing is the name given to all these complex processes that begin before a product or service is produced and continue even after it is sold. “
In other saying, another unintentional answer to the question of what marketing is, which is almost the motto of us as marketers, is that marketing is everything.
Marketing is Everything, Everything is Marketing.
First and foremost, marketing begins with the selection and grouping of the target audience and the discovery of their explicit or hidden wants and needs.
To get more detailed information on this subject, you can watch the video, prepared by Temel Aksoy.
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as:
Marketing is the planning and implementation process of developing, pricing, promoting and distributing goods, services and ideas to realize exchanges that can achieve personal and organizational goals for customers, partners and the public in general.
—– American Marketing Association
As you can see, the definition of marketing can vary according to different perspectives and opinions. On the other hand, it is quite surprising that there are so many different definitions of marketing, which is one of the most fundamental issues.
This situation stems from the fact that the marketing world has kept pace with the development of the world and different definitions may emerge in various periods. Still, whatever they define the concept of marketing, it is quite clear that it has a direct or indirect impact on all steps of business processes.
In fact, marketing gurus consider the function of marketing to be very essential and valuable and criticize the fact that it is seen as just the marketing department. Instead, they support the idea that marketing is the function of an entire organization and should be seen as part of all business processes.
Finally, for those who think exactly what marketing means, we also share the lexical meaning of marketing below.
“All activities such as training salespeople, detecting the market situation and need, introducing, packaging, so as to increase the sales of a good, a product or a service.”
What is Sales and Marketing? What are the differences between them?
If we look at the answer of “what is sales?” question first, the definition made by Wikipedia is as follows.
Sales are the activities that are related to the number of goods or services sold in a certain period of time. The seller or provider of goods and services completes a sale in response to a direct interaction with the buyer in a takeover, allocation, demand or selling point.
Wikipedia
The lexical meaning of sales is as follows.
The transaction between the seller and the buyer in the form of giving the goods to the buyer and receiving the price in return.
The Dictionary
Two different answers to the question of “what is sales?” have been written to explain the differences with marketing more clearly. It is important to be able to clearly distinguish these two concepts, which are often confused and thought to be the same.
Both in terms of meaning and scope, these two concepts are by no means the same. This can be seen clearly when the different definitions mentioned earlier are examined.
But oddly enough, sales professionals in our country can often be referred to as marketing experts. However, sales is only one of the areas that marketing directly affects and it is generally discussed within the marketing management. For instance, packaging, pricing and promotion are some of the functions of marketing. Nevertheless, in various times and situations, marketing can be defined by one or more of these functions. In cases of such stereotypes, the concept of marketing can be greatly damaged and this can endanger the sustainability of the organization. Besides, marketing myopia often arises from such narrow perspectives.
If the marketing unit cannot affect the sales, advertisements / promotion, communication, product, then it becomes absolutely dysfunctional for the organization. Accordingly, it is vital for the organization to be able to make such distinctions correctly. When we think in this way, the answer to the question of what is a marketing expert actually becomes quite clear. A marketing expert is not a salesperson. Or a marketing expert is not an advertiser either. All these functions are a part of marketing, and the person who is defined as a marketing expert is the person who shapes all these parts.
In other words, a marketing expert is the person who carries out the planning and implementation process for the development, pricing and distribution of goods, services and ideas in order to realize exchanges that can achieve personal and organizational goals. It can also be defined as a person who takes part in various stages of this process, according to expertise. Of course, a marketing expert may not have full knowledge of these processes alone. But yet, a successful marketing function or marketing unit should be responsible for managing all these processes.
For an organization or institution to succeed, the functions of marketing must be managed as a whole and in harmony with each other.
What is Corporate Marketing?
In general, one of the marketing functions that enable the institution to be promoted is called corporate marketing.
The main purpose of corporate marketing is to commercialise the institution with communication activities that increase the reputation, awareness and reliability of the institution.
The main objectives of corporate marketing are to release the achievements of the institution, to empower the brand image, to promote the corporate activities and the marketing of these activities.
What are the Fundamental Marketing Concepts?
What Are The 4 Ps of Marketing and What Is Marketing Mix?
4p or marketing mix is the name of the process that a brand goes through while preparing its strategic marketing plan and includes all marketing processes in detail. 4P is the abbreviation of the marketing mix stages consisting of the initials of the words product, price, place and promotion.
What Is Product?
In this process, with the information obtained, the production, packaging, etc. performed. In addition, this process is the first step of the marketing mix, also known as the 4Ps of marketing.
What Is Price?
It comes to the price of the product after deciding on it and how it will be presented in line with the wants and needs of the target audience.
What Is Place?
After the product is decided and priced, the third critical stage, in short the ‘place’ process, takes place. In the place process, answers to questions such as where and how the product will be brought together with the consumer and how it will be delivered to the relevant place are given. For example, in this process, it is decided whether the product will be sold through retail stores, wholesalers or directly over the internet.
What is Promotion?
The last step of the marketing 4P is the ‘promotion’ process. The promotion process is just one part of marketing. Do not think that it is the whole thing! Otherwise, you will misunderstand the marketing process. In this process, the answers to the questions such as how the product will be promoted, which promotion channels will be used, which message will be given to the target audience are searched.
Marketing experts are not salespeople, but they try to do their job well so that the product must be sold before the salespeople try to sell it.
And finally, at the end of all these complex processes, the products meet the consumers or not. As you can see, marketing is really everything. We must definitely point out that you are very likely to hear concepts such as marketing 7Ps or 4Cs of marketing. Since marketing is a very dynamic field, it can vary according to each job and the way each job is done. Marketing can change from one day to the next day. Don’t forget that marketing mix and 4Ps are our most fundamental philosophy.
You can also watch the video below about the marketing mix and 4P. If you are also curious about the answers to the questions, what is branding and how to become a brand? which is one of the most important concepts of marketing, we recommend you to read our “What is branding?” article.
What Is Marketing Management?
As we mentioned before, marketing is the name of all the complex processes that begin before a product or service is produced and continue even after it is sold.
Marketing management, on the other hand, means managing all these complex marketing processes in a coordinated manner and in the direction of the goals of the brand.
To set an example, let’s take one of the first steps in the marketing journey that begins with market research. When you complete this process, you will have to work on the pricing, distribution and promotion respectively. However, all these efforts must be coordinated with each other so as to the brand to serve its ultimate purpose.
Throughout the entire process, you should collect and analyze your customers’ feedback and update your marketing mix regularly.
All of these processes require coordination and strategy in real terms and the management of all of them is called marketing management.