What is Marketing? Everything You Should Know

In many sources or books, you will find this type of definition of marketing:

Marketing is the process of creating, delivering, and promoting products or services to customers. It involves researching, promoting, and distributing a product or service to a target market.

Is it helpful, does it create a visual in your mind what exactly marketing is?

Marketing is like trying to sell ice to an Eskimo, for example, if you are a business owner of an ice factory and you want to sell ice to the people who live in the Arctic regions, you need to be persuasive by showcasing the quality and purity of your ice, and persistent by offering different ice sizes and packaging options. But, you better be sure they don’t already have a freezer. With that said, you should conduct market research to understand the market and see if there’s a need or demand for your product before trying to sell it.

Let’s get back on track.

Marketing encompasses the various strategies and tactics a company employs to draw attention to its products or services by crafting compelling messaging or storytelling.

The aim of marketing is to provide valuable information to potential customers, with the ultimate goal of illustrating the benefits of the product, fostering brand allegiance, and ultimately driving sales.

In case you don’t know, Philip Kotler is the “father of modern marketing” and is known for his work in the field of marketing strategy, including his book “Marketing Management,” which is widely used as a textbook in marketing courses around the world. He has also written over 60 other books and articles on marketing, including “Principles of Marketing” and “Marketing 3.0.”

Why Do Companies Rely on Marketing?

Before I answer this, I must tell you what marketing does in short. With proper marketing practices you can make people (your ideal customers) interested in your company’s product or service.

Reasons why companies rely and invest in marketing:

• Identify and understand their target audience and their needs.
• Create and promote products and services that meet the needs of their target audience.
• Generate leads and attract potential customers.
• Increase sales and revenue.
• Build and maintain a positive image and reputation.
• Stay competitive in the market.
• Measure and track the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
• Establish and maintain long-term relationships with customers.
• Generate brand awareness and loyalty among customers.
• Create a clear differentiation from the competition.

Here the point is, marketing helps any business to stay connected with their target audience which in turn results in the company’s growth.

How To Brew A Perfect Marketing Spell?

This is no magic. Simple processes to follow strictly and get to the depth of every aspect to find that formula to brew your perfect marketing spell.

Before you ever start with marketing, it’s always recommended to first identify your target market and understand their needs and preferences. With this you will come to know whether your product or services fits to the customers requirement.

This can be done through market research, in which you can conduct things like surveys, identify focus groups, and take customer interviews. And there are various market statistics available on the internet to help you ease your market gap research.

Once you have a clear understanding of your target market, you can then develop a marketing mix that includes the right combination of product, price, place, and promotion to effectively reach and engage that market. These are also called the 4 P’s of marketing.

1. Product: This refers to the product or service you are offering. Your research should align towards the customers that are in need of your product.

2. Price: The price of your product or service should be set to be competitive and attractive to your target market. It could be a comparison or not, brands sell shoes for $100, but the same shoe is sold by luxury brands for $1000. You decide how you want to present yourself in the market.

3. Place: This refers to the channels through which you will distribute and sell your product or service. You need to understand where you want to sell your product whether it’s a physical retail store, e-commerce website, or social media platform or something more robust.

4. Promotion: This refers to the methods you will use to promote your product or service to your target market. The methods you can prefer are like advertising, public relations, and sales promotions.

Remember, if you think once you set up your marketing strategy and it will work forever, then you might be wrong. It’s always important to regularly review and adjust your marketing strategy based on the results you are seeing.

Marketing is necessary for businesses to create awareness, generate leads, build relationships, increase sales, stay competitive, build a strong brand, and measure progress. It is an essential part of any business, as it helps businesses to connect with their target audience and grow.

Different Types of Marketing

Marketing is crucial, marketing is necessary if you want to grow your business by reaching your potential target audience.

Why not have a look at the 10 most used marketing types which have been proven as fruitful for almost all the businesses. And in your company too, you can opt for the most potential marketing types to connect with your audiences.

1. Print Marketing

If you will ask me which is the oldest form of marketing, I would obviously answer print marketing. This type of marketing includes tactics such as brochures, flyers, billboards, and print ads. It helps businesses to reach a local audience and increase brand awareness through traditional means of advertising.

2. Public Relations

Since the inception of news & media platforms, PR marketing is happening. PR marketing focuses on building and maintaining a positive image and reputation for a brand. It helps businesses to manage their reputation and communicate effectively with the media and the public.

3. Broadcast Marketing

Everyone loves entertainment, and modern entertainment started with the radio and then televisions. This type of marketing includes tactics such as television commercials, radio ads, and satellite radio ads. It helps businesses to reach a mass audience through traditional means of advertising and increase brand awareness and drive sales through effective messaging and storytelling. Additionally, it can be a great way for businesses to target a specific demographic based on the type of programming or station they choose to advertise on. With the advent of streaming services, businesses can also advertise on streaming platforms to reach their target audience.

4. Word of Mouth Marketing

It’s something that your product or service speaks from the mouth of your customers. This type of marketing involves leveraging happy customers to promote a brand or product through word-of-mouth recommendations. It helps businesses to increase brand loyalty and credibility through positive customer experiences.

5. Telemarketing

You can get clear statistics of mobile phone usage during this time. Telemarketing involves making sales calls to potential customers over the phone. It helps businesses to generate leads and increase sales through direct communication. Now not always a human is calling a human, instead an IVR calls and promotes your brand with a pre-recorded voice message.

6. Brand Marketing

Every business is a brand. Marketing your business means marketing your brand. Brand marketing focuses on building and promoting a brand’s identity, values, and personality. It helps businesses to increase brand awareness and loyalty through consistent messaging and imagery.

7. Digital Marketing

Also known as internet marketing, the most used marketing method nowadays. Digital marketing includes tactics such as search engine optimization, content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing. It helps businesses to reach a larger audience, especially those who are using the internet, increase brand awareness and drive sales through the internet and digital platforms.

8. Content Marketing

Content is king, without content there is no marketing. Content marketing focuses on creating valuable and informative content that educates and engages the target audience. It helps businesses to establish themselves as industry leaders, increase brand awareness and drive sales.

9. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is the most hyped marketing method which involves partnering with influencers to promote a brand or product. It helps businesses to reach a wider audience especially the audience that follows the influencer and increase brand awareness through the credibility of the influencer.

10. Video Marketing

Video marketing is one of the most favorable marketing options for many businesses. Video marketing involves creating and promoting videos that showcase a brand or product. It helps businesses to increase engagement and drive sales through the use of visual storytelling.

In case you missed the trail, these are just the 10 most used marketing types. There are many more forms of marketing which you can leverage to reach out to your potential customer.

ALSO READ: 10 Predictions for the Future of Digital Marketing

You must agree with me that marketing is a vital aspect of any business and it plays a crucial role in connecting companies with their target audience and driving growth.

Companies rely on marketing to increase sales, build brand awareness and loyalty, stay competitive, reach new customers, differentiate from the competition, build long-term relationships with customers, measure their efforts, and communicate their value proposition.

If you are a business owner or a marketer, it’s essential to understand the importance of marketing and how it can help your business succeed.

External References

If you want to learn more about marketing and how to develop effective strategies for your business, consider reading more resources on the topic, consulting an expert or taking a marketing course.

Here are a few references I can suggest you to go through:

1. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management. Pearson.

2. Ries, A., & Trout, J. (2011). Positioning: The battle for your mind. McGraw-Hill Professional.

3. Godin, S. (1999). Permission marketing: turning strangers into friends and friends into customers. Simon and Schuster.

4. Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: Capitalizing on the value of a brand name. Free Press.

5. Moore, G. A. (1991). Crossing the chasm: Marketing and selling high-tech products to mainstream customers. HarperBusiness.

These references are widely considered as classics in the marketing field and can provide additional insights into the concept, theories and best practices of marketing.