What is marketing? A quick look.

What is marketing? A quick look.

by PETER VAN ZIJL

What is marketing?
What does marketing mean? Most of us think of marketing just as selling and advertising. This is no surprise - every day our live are flooded with TV commercials, newspaper and magazine ads, sales calls, junk mail and of course email ads. All day someone is trying to sell us something. It is as inevitable as taxes and death.

You may be surprised to learn that advertising and selling is just the tip of the marketing iceberg. They are very important, but they are only two of many marketing functions that have developed over time. Marketing functions developed as marketing's influence infiltrated different business sectors.

Different companies became interested in marketing at different times. Companies like Coca Cola saw the unbelievable potential of marketing almost immediately. Marketing then spread rapidly through consumer packaged good companies. In recent times, more consumer service orientated businesses such as airlines and retailers have adopted a more modern approach to marketing. The latest groups to adopt marketing approaches are service providers such as engineers, lawyers, doctors and accountants. Until recently, professionals like this were not allowed to engage in price competition. Legislation changes have enabled professionals to advertise and engage in competitive pricing.

Now in the 21st century marketing has changed. In the old days it was the old "telling and selling" approach. Now we are more customer orientated, satisfying our customers needs by interacting and working with the customer. We are living in the age of online marketing - tailoring products and services for a more one-on-one approach thus encouraging customer feedback.

A marketing organization now understands their customers needs and tailor makes these products for their customers. Different challenges arise now. Borders are no longer a hurdle to trade. This is what brings up different challenges to marketers, whether to standardize products or tailor make them to a certain geographical market. The challenge of marketing is to retain customers by satisfying their needs, wants and demands. Marketing is a social and managerial process by which people obtain what they want and what they need thru creating and exchanging products and value with others.

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