Marketing Definition

Defining Marketing

When asked for a definition of the term marketing, one may receive a variety of answers from many different people. Every organization has its own idea of what marketing means. Many organizations, whether profit or not for profit based, form their vision and/or mission statement on their own meaning of marketing, whether they realize it or not. The following paragraphs will list a couple of the various definitions of marketing, as well as its importance in organizational success. Since every person may have their own definition, I will explain my personal opinion of the meaning of marketing first.

In my opinion, the definition for marketing has many elements that make up its meaning. The first is the fact that it is a tool for organizations to inform consumers of the product or service available to them. Effective marketing takes into consideration the product or services' target audience. Knowing the demographics is essential before moving forward with advertising the product or service. The point of advertising is to keep current customers happy and interested, as well as lure in new customers, by making them aware of a product or service, whether it is new or old. That is my definition of marketing. Below are a couple of other definitions from different organizations.

The first definition comes from a web site for the Manitoba Customer Contact Association (M.C.C.A.). M.C.C.A. is a group of industry managers, directors, and owners based out of Manitoba, Canada. Their focus is advancing the industry in Manitoba by expanding its "...qualified sustainable pool of human resources" (www.mcca.mb.ca/4.training.3.htm). Their definition of marketing is "The innovative synergism of all those activities within an organization to get the goods or services of that organization in the hands of the customers" (www.mcca.mb.ca/4.training.3.htm). Getting the product or service to the customers seems to be the primary focus. In the case of M.C.C.A., the service they are concentrating on is placing a better human relations workforce within all of the city's businesses.

The New South Wales (NSW) Small Business website is a government website that gives information to people starting and managing small businesses. Its information topics include starting in business, managing a business, technology in business, exporting, government programs, and resources. Listed under the resources page is a business tools section, which has a glossary of business terms. NSW's definition for marketing is "Finding out what customers want, then setting out to meet their needs, provided it can be done at a profit. Marketing includes market research, deciding on products and prices, advertising, promoting, distributing, and selling" (www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/smallbusiness/). This website also defined marketing plan and marketing strategy, enforcing the importance of marketing for a company's success.

Most companies must have a good marketing technique if they want to stay above the water in today's competitive business world. To ensure this, they must fully understand what their