Marketing
Marketing is
the study and management of exchange relationships.[1][2]
Marketing is used to create, keep and satisfy the customer. With the customer
as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that Marketing is one of
the premier components of Business Management - the other being Innovation.[3]
Definition:
Marketing is
defined by the American Marketing Association 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."[4] The
term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to
market with goods for sale. From a sales process engineering perspective,
marketing is "a set of processes that are interconnected and
interdependent with other functions" of a business aimed at
achieving customer interest and satisfaction.[5]
Philip kotler defines marketing as :-marketing is about Satisfying needs and
wants through an exchange process.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines
marketing as "the management process responsible for identifying,
anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably."[6] A
similar concept is the value-based marketing which states the
role of marketing to contribute to increasing shareholder
value.[7] In
this context, marketing can be defined as "the management process
that seeks to maximise returns to shareholders by
developing relationships with valued customers and creating a competitive
advantage."[7]
Marketing
practice tended to be seen as a creative industry in the past, which
included advertising, distribution and selling. However,
because the academic study of marketing makes extensive use of social
sciences, psychology, sociology, mathematics, economics, anthropology and neuroscience,
the profession is now widely recognized as a science,[8][not in citation given]allowing
numerous universities to offer Master-of-Science (MSc) programs.[9][not in citation given]
The process
of marketing is that of bringing a product to market in which includes these
steps: broad market research; market targeting and market segmentation; determining distribution,
pricing and promotion strategies; developing a communications strategy;
budgeting; and visioning long-term market development goals.[10]Many
parts of the marketing process (e.g. product
design, art director, brand
management, advertising, copywriting etc.)
involve use of the creative arts.