Definitions of Marketing

There are many definitions of marketing. The better definitions are focused upon customer orientation and satisfaction of customer needs.

“Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others.”
– Philips Kotler

“Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably.”
– The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

The CIM definition looks not only at identifying customer needs, but also satisfying them (short-term) and anticipating them in the future (long-term retention).

“Marketing is a total system of business activities which is design to plan, price, promote and distribute the want satisfying products or services to the target market in order to satisfy their needs and demands.”
– Williams J. Stanton

“The right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price-”
– Adcock

This is a snappy and realistic definition that uses McCarthy’s Four Ps.

The Philosophy of Marketing and the Marketing Concept

The marketing concept is a philosophy. It makes the customer, and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the focal point of all business activities. It is driven by senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers.

“Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity at all It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise.
– Drucker

“This customer focused philosophy is known as the ‘marketing concept’. The marketing concept is a philosophy, not a system of marketing or an organizational structure. It is founded on the belief that profitable sales and satisfactory returns on investment can only be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and desires.”
– Barwell

Now that you have been introduced to some definitions of marketing and the marketing concept, remember the important elements contained as follows:

1. Marketing focuses on the satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements.
2. The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by everyone from within the organization.
3. Future needs have to be identified and anticipated.
4. There is normally a focus upon profitability, especially in the corporate sector. However, as public – sector organizations and not-for-profit organizations adopt the concept of marketing; this need not always is the case.
5. More recent definitions recognize the influence of marketing upon society.