Definition of Marketing

Definition of Marketing

If one asked the average person the definition of marketing, the response would typically be advertising a product. Marketing, however, is more than a catch-phrase or jingle. Marketing is about satisfying the needs of the consumer. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, summed it up best when he said, "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning" (Hill, 2003, para. 1). The success or failure of a business can hinge on its approach to marketing; this paper will provide two different definitions of marketing and provide three examples of the importance of marketing in making a business successful in today's global marketplace.

What Marketing Means

Bateman and Snell define marketing as "identifying customer needs (latent or manifest) and translate them back to the firm for its reaction" (p. 580, para 6). Of all the various company departments, marketing is closest to the customer.

Market Street

Asian Family Customers Shopping in The Super Marke...

[Fish market, Bergen, Norway] (LOC)

The functionality of marketing fulfils consumer awareness and how it interrelates within an economy. If a business understands future trends within its industry, it can use the knowledge to leverage its position with competitors to meet customer wants and needs and develop the best approach to promote its product or service.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) has a different definition stating the function of marketing as "a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit [both] the organization and its stakeholders" (AMA, 2010). This broad view summarizes the multiple activities of marketing within an organization. These marketing activities, if successful, should result in sales to meet organizational goals and sustain growth year over year.

The view of this author is marketing is more than advertising; the most important role of marketing is to...