Defining Marketing

Marketing is used in every business; marketing can be as simple as word of mouth or an elaborate campaign. When businesses want to be more widely known, they rely on marketing to get the word out about the company and the products or services that they provide to a diverse customer base. This paper will cover a personal definition of marketing along with definitions of marketing from two additional sources. In relations to the definitions provided, the importance of marketing and how the functions correspond in an organization will also be discussed. Finally, three examples from the business world will be provided in order to support explanations of the functions of marketing.

"Marketing plays a big part in economic growth and development. One key reason is that marketing encourages research and innovation, the development and spread of new ideas, goods, and services" (Perreault et al, 2004). Most people think marketing is sales and advertising.

Market Street

[Fish market, Bergen, Norway] (LOC)

English: Web marketing, type of job and future pro...

Although sales and advertising are activities that are incorporated into the marketing process, the words sales and advertising do not adequately convey the definition of marketing.

My personal definition of marketing is to identify a target market and evaluate their wants and needs in order to satisfy them better than any other competition. In order to accomplish this, a company must research their customers' needs and make decisions that are strategically sound in regards to product design, pricing, promotion and distribution.

The American Marketing Association gave a formal definition. It stated 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 (AMA, 2008).

In order to understand the needs of the customer, the business should implement a clear, concise marketing strategy. "A marketing...