Broad Definition of Marketing

Definition of Marketing Paper

Jennifer Shrum

MKT 421

Rebecca Robbins

July 21, 2011

Definition of Marketing Paper

Marketing is an influence in almost every area of our life, but what is it, exactly? Why is it that business spends more than an estimated $412 Billion a year on it in the United States alone? (OutSell, Inc., 2011) Some people say marketing is an art and others a science, that it takes an understanding of business and others say an understanding of psychology; the truth of it is it takes a balance of all of these things.

Marketing is the action of creating value; usually in the business world this is around a product or service that is for sale but it can also relate to all other areas of personal interaction. The 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.” (American Marketing Association, 2011) whereas another definition from a Marketing Teacher, a marketing advocacy group, defines marketing as “the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others.” (Marketing Teacher, 2011) All definitions of marketing include the creation and management of value to the customer.

Value in business is very important; it is value that can help increase revenue and more importantly, profit of the business. The higher the value of the product or service being sold the more profit the business will receive. Value can be created through marketing in many different ways including communications, customer support, correct product or service development and execution as well as creation of overall demand. The actual sale of a product or service from a business is only profitable the customer is willing to pay for the perceived value that is greater than the cost. Marketing is...