Suggest a new Definition

    Proposed definitions will be considered for inclusion in the Economictimes.com

    Marketing

    What is 'Marketing'


    Marketing
    Have you seen advertisement boards around you or emails and calls asking you to try a newly launched product or buy an insurance cover from them? Well, no matter how annoying we find these, all of these are part of marketing campaigns for a brand.
    Marketing is an integral part of business, and with the cutthroat competition that exists in the business world, marketing has the power to make or break a venture.
    Marketing involves a slew of steps. Through effective campaigns, the market is studied initially. From the surveys, the required services or products are presented to the consumers and strategies are prepared to increase the consumer base and boost sales to generate more revenues and leads.

    What is marketing?
    Marketing definition includes activities undertaken by a business establishment or an individual to promote their services and products. Marketing includes promotion, advertisement and selling products and services to the consumers.
    Marketing is the key component of any venture and includes aspects like writing product descriptions, designing website pages, improving customer services, establishing business & market segments and conducting market research. Marketing involves strategies that aid in the growth of a business venture.

    According to E. J. McCarthy, there are four P's that constitute marketing
    Product: Product is the root of marketing. It refers to the product or service that the venture wishes to offer its customer. Before preparing a campaign for a product, a marketer should know about the nitty-gritty of the product, how the product can be used, how it can be beneficial for the consumer and so forth. The product should be answered to consumer demand or market availability.
    Price: Price is the other P of marketing. It refers to the selling price of the product. Factors like unit cost price, distribution expenses and marketing costs play an important factor when deciding the product's price. Prices from the competition companies and consumer demand also weigh in a while deciding on the product.
    Place: Another P of the marketing is place. It refers to the distribution of the product. The product can be sold through the physical forefront or online.
    Promotion: The last P of marketing is promotions or integrated marketing communication campaigns. Advertisement, selling, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotions, guerilla marketing and sponsorships are included in promotions.
    Types of marketing
    Blog Marketing: Gone are the days when blogs were associated with individual writers. Nowadays, blog marketing involves promoting products by brands for potential customers who use the internet to obtain information.
    Internet Marketing: The Internet is used by people across the globe. Therefore, having a strong internet presence or heavy internet marketing is required to aid the growth of a business.
    Print Marketing: Newspapers and magazines have a huge reader base, so print marketing is highly beneficial for a business venture. Business establishments and individuals sponsor articles, photographs and ads that will help in catching the attention of the millions.
    Search Engine Marketing: Based on the concept of pay-per-click, brands pay search engines to place links to their pages and business ventures above other competing brands. A search engine optimization (SEO) process, which includes optimizing the content on websites to boost traffic to their site, is another method of search engine marketing.
    Social Media Marketing: Social Media platforms are used by thousands of people, so having a strong media platform plays a very important role in boosting sales. Platforms like Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter help create impressions on customers and help in increasing the consumer base.
    Video Marketing: Video Marketing recently got popularized as it is quite entertaining to use videos of different formats for the audience and boost sales.

    Benefits of Marketing
    Generating brand awareness: Marketing helps increase the consumers' acquaintance with brands' motives and products. Marketing helps in bridging a loyal customer base.
    Generation of traffic: Different methods of online marketing helps in the generation of traffic and leads, which increases the brand's sales in the long run.
    Increases revenue: Through website optimization, creating email campaigns and regulating marketing strategies, brands increase revenue and sales.
    Developing Trust: It has been observed that brands with strong marketing campaigns and internet presence aids in building trust, which leads to increased purchases and loyal consumers.
    Tracks metrics: Studying the market and business of a brand, in general, is important when developing marketing campaigns. Therefore, tracking metrics helps check the brand's progress and adapt marketing strategies accordingly to optimize sales.

    Objectives of Marketing
    Marketing increases brand awareness among the target audience and aids brand visibility while roping in new consumers.
    Strong marketing campaigns help in increasing market share. The business world is strongly competitive, and these marketing campaigns help in boosting the market shares.
    Marketing is strongly based on market research, and one of the primary objectives of marketing is to launch products and services based on the market's needs and improve return on investments strategically.
    Marketing helps challenge the brand to expand the business and get introduced to new local, national and international markets, With a positive marketing plan can boost business profits and optimize the conversion funnel.
    The most obvious objective of marketing is to boost sales, increase customer loyalty, and capture new leads.

    What are some of the popular types of marketing?
    The popular types of marketing are:-
    Business to Business (B2B) marketing: B2B marketing involves targeting other businesses. This includes supplying other companies with services and products. The goods sent are known as industrial goods.
    Directly to consumers: Also known as B2C marketing, the marketing strategy involves direct campaigns targeting individuals who have already consumed their products.
    B2B + B2C marketing: A form of integrated marketing strategy that equally focuses on developing strong relationships with their consumers and other businesses.
    Recruitment marketing: This marketing involves tools and strategies to engage and attract talent to join the organization.

    What includes in marketing strategies?
    Marketing strategy includes:-
    Understanding Of customers
    Analyzing market and competition
    Determining marketing campaigns
    Providing a budget
    Exciting plans

    What are the ideal skills of a marketer?
    Marketers should have the following skill:-
    Excellent communication and organization skills
    Excellent time management
    Appropriate technical skills

    Disclaimer: This content is authored by an external agency. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated and verified. ET hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, relating to the report and any content therein.

    Related News

    • Earnings Outlook: Demand bounce or cost spin? Look who’s talkingThe April-June quarterly results of Indian companies were disappointing, with BSE 500 firms showing just an 8% revenue growth and a 3% profit rise. Analysts will closely monitor future earnings. Professionals from sectors such as automobiles, consumer goods, and healthcare are cautiously optimistic, expecting better performance due to favorable conditions in the upcoming months.
    • The fun, harmless double entendre world of surrogate advertisingThe phenomenon of surrogate advertising is risining in which companies cleverly promote prohibited products like alcohol by using alternate items like soda. The Central Consumer Protection Authority issued guidelines in 2022 to regulate this, threatening penalties and bans for violations. Surrogate advertising relies on consumers recognizing the hidden messages behind these promotions.
    • Mobile executives: Samsung pros port to Xiaomi, worsen its slide showKunal Agarwal, formerly of Samsung India, joined Xiaomi India as deputy sales head in February, leading to numerous Samsung executives switching to Xiaomi. This shift coincides with Xiaomi's recent market rise and Samsung's decline amidst inventory issues and retailer disputes over pricing and margins.
    • Bata Q1 Results: Standalone PAT jumps 62% to Rs 174 crore, revenue falls 1%Footwear firm Bata India Ltd reported a 61.7% increase in standalone net profit to Rs. 174.37 crores in the first quarter ended June 2024, compared to Rs. 107.84 crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
    • Hiring activity shows 12% increase in July: Naukri JobSpeak IndexHiring activity in the white-collar sector increased by 12% YoY in July 2024, with key sectors like Pharma/Biotech, FMCG, Real Estate, and AI/ML leading the growth. Overall, the broad-based growth across sectors and geographies signals a positive trend, with the IT sector and fresher hiring experiencing significant upticks.
    • India's manufacturing activity slows marginally in JulyIndia's manufacturing sector saw a slight dip in July, with the manufacturing PMI at 58.1, down from 58.3 in June. However, international sales grew significantly, driven by demand from various regions. Input cost inflation and higher labor costs were noted as key factors affecting the sector's performance.
    • TTK Prestige to consider buyback of shares on August 2. Shares up 4%Kitchen appliance and cookware manufacturer TTK Prestige on Tuesday announced that its board will consider a buyback of shares in its upcoming board meeting on August 2, following which the shares of the company surged 4% to Rs 939.55 on BSE.
    • Budget 2024: Boost to disposable income augurs well for FMCG companiesThe Union Budget 2024 has measures for providing support to poor, women, youth and farmers. There is a provision of Rs 1.5 lakh crore towards education, employment and skilling. These measures augur well for the FMCG companies as they may result in more disposable income.
    • Tourism and hospitality industry disappointed with the budgetBudget 2024: The travel and hospitality industry has expressed dissatisfaction with the Union Budget 2024-25, noting that several key demands were unmet. These included granting infrastructure status to the hospitality sector, increasing marketing and publicity budgets for inbound tourism, and reducing GST rates on travel and hospitality. Aashish Gupta of FAITH highlighted missed opportunities for supporting tourism growth. Rajiv Mehra of the Indian Association of Tour Operators criticized the lack of focus on boosting inbound tourism. The budget cut funding for overseas promotions to Rs 33.02 crore, down from Rs 100 crore.
    • Paytm loss widens to Rs 840 crore, revenue falls; fintech plans to cut staff cost by Rs 500 crorePaytm's Q1 financials were mainly impacted by RBI's action in March when it asked Paytm Payments Bank to halt banking services. ​The digital payments major, which saw its monthly transacting users fall to around 7.8 crore in June from 10.4 crore in January, said it is eyeing at least one profitable quarter this fiscal.
    Load More
    The Economic Times