Defining Marketing and Advertising

Many individuals may think of marketing as the way a business advertises their products and or their services. Others may believe advertising is how an organization carries out their public relations or promotions. A few individuals consider marketing to

be selling or advertising. In a way this is true because in order for marketing to be carried out properly selling and advertising are a few key roles of the marketing process (Perreault McCarthy, 2004). Jan Welborn Nichols and Ann Arbor describe marketing as ones strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve ones objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service) (Welborn Nicholas, 1993). As one begins to follow the passage below one will become familiar with different definitions of what marketing signifies, based on these definitions explain the importance of marketing in organizational success. Also, the following will provide a minimum of three examples from the business world to prove the importance of marketing and the organizational success.

What should a company do before and after it decides to produce and sell? As indicated by Perreault-McCarthy and Arbor a company should consider the following if the product one wishes to promote is a bike:

1. Analyze the needs of people who might buy a bike and decide if they want more or different models.

2. Predict what types of bikes – handlebar styles, type of wheels, brakes, and materials – different customers will want and decide which of these people the firm will try to satisfy.

3. Estimate how many of these people will want to buy bicycles, and when.

4. Determine where in the world these bike riders will be and how to get the firm’s bikes to them.

5. Estimate what price they are willing to pay for their bikes and if the firm can make a profit selling at that price.

6. Decide which kinds of promotion should be used to tell potential customers about the firm’s bikes.

7. Estimate how many completing companies will be making bikes, what kind, and at what prices.

8. Figure out how many to provide warranty service if a customer has a problem after buying a bike (Perreault McCarthy, 2004).

Many may assume that the activities above are captured by production when in fact it is actually a part of a much greater process identified as marketing. This process directs the production of the product(s) and provides needed assurance that the right goods and services are produced and find their way to consumers (Perreault McCarthy, 2004).

Another way an organization can market and organize successfully is by strategically integrating across the entire organization. As Jan Welborn Nichols and Ann Arbor describe marketing as ones strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve ones objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service) (Welborn Nicholas, 1993). One way to define this effort would be to do the following activities and consider marketing as a cycle that consists of:

1. Research: Research often begins with a guess, sometimes an informed guess based upon your observations, experiences, and belief system. Often the process of gathering information can feel counter-intuitive, especially when research indicates something other than what you believe (Welborn Nicholas, 1993). Research customer demographics, psychographics, and competitive intelligence. From this research a SWOTT analysis can be developed.

2. Strategy and planning: gathered from raw data, the marketing department can create a strategy and then implement

3. Branding: making a name for the product – brand, how would the company like to be known by the consumer.

4. Product development: the complete process of bringing a new product or service to market.

5. Sales and sales training: as the product or service has been established and prior to bring the product to market the sales team must be trained and to ensure proper knowledge of the product and or service to close a sale.

6. Point of purchase (POP): materials needed to press sales: coupon holders, brochures, and promotional signs to name a few.

7. Public relations (PR), media relations, and public affairs: PR deals with the public to inform individuals of the new product and or service. Media relations strictly deal with the press. Public affairs transact with the various government entities that impact the organization.

8. Customer service: customer experience should be extremely important to the marketers for if the customer is not satisfied with the product and or service then the organization must run back to the drawing board to identify what went wrong with the product and service.

One method to complete a marketing debate would be to include the four P’s (Perreault McCarthy, 2004). The four P’s consists of the following: product, price, place, and promotion.

A few examples of the business world to prove the importance of marketing and the organizational success are Dell Computers, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s. Dell Computers provides a service that nearly other competitors can not follow. For example, Dell can create a computer to the consumer’s needs as the client is on the phone. Then, the computer can be shipped to the consumer in nearly no time at all (Businessweek, 2005). McDonald’s is known worldwide and is the number one fast food company leading in sales today. How does McDonald’s do this? Combining tangible products and meeting the needs of the consumer – Happy Meals (Hoovers, 2008). Wendy’s menu offers a diversity of menus and all for just about .99 cents (Businessweek.com, 2008). No one can go wrong with a .99 cents menu especially such a variety of foods. With such a diverse world people need a variety of foods when looking through a menu of the restaurant will lose interest and the client will be lost.

Today marketing process can begin with an idea or a passion. As a company conducts research to determine if the idea has merit then one can begin to ask questions. Who are the organizations potential customers? How large is the target market? What’s the perceived value of the product? Who are the competitors? How is the idea unique? How can the organization communicate that uniqueness?
In conclusion, marketing is important to many companies and is an essential piece to an organization’s success. Success is of great importance in creating a foundation to produce a product and or service. The comprehension of the functionality and need for marketing is a good starting point in understanding what’s the purpose and how it interrelates in a economy and enhances consumer responsiveness in its buying power.

References
Businessweek. (2008). A Fresh Hunger for Wendy’s. Retrieved on February 11, 2008 from
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jul2007/pi20070731_790658.htm?chan=search
Businessweek. (2005). Dell: The Action Hero of Product Support. Retrieved on February 11,
2008 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_31/b3945079.htm?chan=search
Hoovers. (2008). McDonald’s Corporation. Retrieved on February 11, 2008 from
http://www.hoovers.com/mcdonald’s/–ID__10974–/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
Perreault W., Jr. and McCarthy E. (2004). Basic Marketing: Principles and Perspectives, (4th
ed.) McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2004New York, NY.
Welborn Nichols, J., Arbor, A. (1993). Marketing Basics. Retrieved on February 11, 2008
from http://www.tenonline.org/art/mm1.html