Defining Marketing

Marketing originated almost a century ago. Through the years its definition has changed drastically. I have always viewed marketing as anything that promotes sales or makes them increase in volume. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines marketing as the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising. Goals indicate what a business unit wants to achieve; strategy is a game plan for getting there. Every business must design a strategy for achieving its goals. The strategy must consist of a marketing strategy, a compatible technology approach, and a sourcing plan. A useful tool for identifying relevant screening criteria and for zeroing in on a feasible strategy is S.W.O.T. analysis. It identifies and lists the firm's strengths and weaknesses and its opportunities and threats. Managers can use this tool to focus on an organizations strengths and opportunities while avoiding its weaknesses and threats. "Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders (Kotler and Keller, 2006, p.6)."

Simplicity, continuity, and experimentation will pave the road to successful marketing, while complacency, overspecialization, and multistep processes impede smooth operations. General Motors elaborate organization has hindered its ability to adjust to today's intense global competition in cars. A lengthy chain of command slows the decision making process.

Organizational success occurs when the marketing concept works together with good management approaches and with ethical business practices in order to satisfy the needs and wants of the various publics of the organization itself. In A Framework for Organizational Success the authors propose that focusing on one concept and ignoring the other two aspects, is not likely to promote organizational success. On the other hand it can be said that a firm that is ethical will, unavoidably, consider its customers' needs, consider society's needs, and consider the needs of its employees and suppliers. Primerica Financial Services considers the needs of its employees by granting their regional vice presidents equity ownership of the company. Valuable employees are retained through these types of practices. They are more likely to service their customers with a better attitude and loyalty in order to retain them for the organization that services their needs in the same type of way.