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Marketing is the craft of linking the producers (or potential producers) of a product or service with customers, both existing and potential. Some form of marketing arises naturally in all capitalist societies but is not limited to capitalist societies. Marketing techniques are also applied in politics, religion, personal affairs, and many other aspects of life.
Marketing methods are informed by many of the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics. Marketing research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts.
OverviewIn popular usage, the term "marketing" refers to the promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. However, in professional usage the term has a wider meaning. It can be divided into four sections, often called the "four Ps," only one of which is promotion. They are:
- Product - The Product management aspect of marketing deals with the specifications of the actual good or service, and how it relates to the end-user's needs and wants.
- Pricing - This refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including discounts.
- Promotion - This includes advertising, sales promotion,publicity, and personal selling, and refers to the various methods of promoting the product, brand, or company.
- Place or distribution refers to how the product gets to the customer; for example, point of sale placement or retailing.
These four elements are often referred to as the marketing mix. A marketer will use these variables to craft a marketing plan. For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "p's" must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market. Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they don't want is extremely expensive and seldom successful. Marketers depend on marketing research to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this process will give them tainable competitive advantage. Marketing management is the practical application of this process.
In marketing products, companies pursue a customer orientation or a product orientation. A market-oriented company focuses its activities and products on customer needs. A product-oriented company pursues product innovation, then tries to attract the market to the product. Although many people assume that a market-oriented approach is the most logical avenue, many firms successfully focus on product innovation, such as in research and development focused companies.
Some aspects of marketing, especially promotion, are the subject of criticisms. The latest form of marketing evolved from Internet called Internet Marketing forms a new approach, different from traditional marketing. It caters to a more targetted audience, whereby internet users enter their search phrase in search engines and searches for products and services. Traditionally, marketing appeals to m but now, internet marketing appeals to targetted m. Businesses are starting to embrace this new form of marketing as part of their advertising budget for its effectiveness.
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