Definitions of Marketing

Be sure the company is taking good care of their customers (People), and having the right Planning and targeting (People), the right Product, right Place or distribution, right Price, right Promotion, right Partners, right Presentation, with the right amount of Passion in the 9P’s.

Make sure there is differentiation. Unique Selling Proposition or Point, shortened to U.S. P., falls here too. Differentiate based on the needs and wants of the potential consumers and businesses. That is what builds brands.

Concepts, Terms and Useful Definitions

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (Definition approved by the American Marketing Association, Board of Directors, July 2013¹.

Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. (Principles of Marketing, 16e, Kotler and Armstrong, 2016)

Marketing: The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (Marketing Management 15e, Kotler and Keller, 2016)

Marketing Management is the art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them. (Principles of Marketing, 16e, Kotler and Armstrong, 2016)

The aim of Marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him (her/it) and sells itself. (Peter F. Drucker)

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. The previous definition: 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. The American Marketing Association (established in 1937 by visionaries in marketing and academia) unveiled their definition used as the official definition in books, by marketing professionals and taught in universities. The American Marketing Association revisits the definition for marketing every five years in a disciplined effort to reflect on the state of the marketing field. This process, as laid out in the Association’s bylaws, is guided by a committee whose members represent a cross-section of the marketing industry; the committee was formed in late 2006, under the leadership of Donald R. Lehmann, the George E. Warren Professor of Business at Columbia Business School in New York.

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 who are 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. (Peter F. Drucker)

Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others. (Philip Kotler)

Marketing is getting the right product or service to the right people (target market), at the right time, at the right place, at the right price, with the right partners, plus right communication, promotion and presentation.

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy the perceived needs, wants, and objectives of individuals and organizations. (Contemporary Advertising, 14e, Arens, Weigold, Arens, 2013)

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of goods and services to facilitate exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. (Understanding Business, Nickels, McHugh, McHugh, 2008)

Marketing is the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization’s objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client. (Basic Marketing, A Marketing Planning Approach, 19 Edition, Perreault, Cannon and McCarthy, 2014)

Marketing is the process of creating, distributing, promoting and pricing goods, services, and ideas to facilitate satisfying exchange relationships with consumers and to develop and maintain favorable relationships with shareholders in a dynamic environment. (Foundations of Marketing, Third Edition, Pride and Ferrell, 2009)

The AMA (American Marketing Association) defines Marketing as the “Activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” This definition takes into account all parties involved in the marketing effort: members of the producing organization, resellers of goods and services, and customers or clients. (A Preface To Marketing Management, 13 edition, J. Paul Peter, James H. Donnelly, Jr. 2012)

Marketing is the process of conceiving, pricing, promoting and distributing ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that benefit consumers and organizations. (Advertising & Integrated Brand Promotion, 5e, O’Guinn, Allen, Semenik, 2009)

The purpose of Marketing is to sell more stuff to more people more often for more money in order to make more profit. (Sergio Zyman)

The Mantra of Marketing: Marketing’s job is to create, communicate and deliver value to a target market at a profit. Market Management needs to “Create Value,” “Communicate Value,” and “Deliver Value.” There are three businesses here: Product Management; Brand Management; and Customer Management. (Kotler at London Business Forum)

¹ American Marketing Association, "About AMA: Definition of Marketing," https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx (cited May 28, 2014)