Defining Marketing Paper

If you're confused about marketing, you are not alone. There are so many different definitions for marketing. Pick up any marketing textbook or guru guide and you'll get a different definition such as:

"Marketing is a human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through the exchange process." (Kotler: 1972)

"Getting the right goods to the right people at the right price at the right time and with the right communication and promotion." (Anon.)

"The all-embracing function that links the business with customers needs and wants in order to get the right product to the right place at the right time."

"The achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better the competition."

But what is the true definition of marketing? As I continued to search the web, I read that 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 stakeholders.

Market Street

Asian Family Customers Shopping in The Super Marke...

[Fish market, Bergen, Norway] (LOC)

However, in another definition I read that "marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individuals and organizational objectives." (American Marketing Association: 1985). But these terms no longer tell the whole story. For example, what about the internet - is it a product, promotion, or place? What is "place" in the brave new world of cyberspace?

Marketing, more than technology, is most often the reason for the success or failure of a new venture. More often than not, the reason for the success of a new venture is not the technology, it is marketing. Not only does marketing play a crucial role in developing, producing, and selling products or services, but also in guiding recruiting efforts and raising capital.