COMPCOMPARISON OF DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF MARKETING

The shortest definition of Marketing is meeting needs profitably.

According to Phillip Kotler 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.

Some other definitions are discussed here for comparison purpose.

In popular usage, "marketing" is the promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. However, in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of the practice and science of trading.

“Marketing is an activity. Marketing activities and strategies result in making products available that satisfy customers while making profits for the companies that offer those products.”

The following definitions are quite similar to this one:

“It refers to the management process which identifies, anticipates and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably.”

Marketing practice tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the customers' future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research.

The societal definition of marketing is:

“Marketing is a societal process which discerns consumers' wants, focusing on a product or service to fulfill those wants, attempting to move the consumers toward the products or services offered.”

“Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably.”

The essence of Marketing is “The right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price.”


"Marketing is the wide range of activities involved in making sure that you're continuing to meet the needs of your customers and getting value in return. Marketing is usually focused on one product or service. Thus, a marketing plan for one product might be very different than that for another product. Marketing activities include "inbound marketing," such as market research to find out, for example, what groups of potential customers exist, what their needs are, which of those needs you can meet, how you should meet them, etc. Inbound marketing also includes analyzing the competition, positioning your new product or service (finding your market niche), and pricing your products and services. "Outbound marketing" includes promoting a product through continued advertising, promotions, public relations and sales.”
“Marketing is an investment that, if done wisely, not only pays for itself but allows a business to grow. When proper marketing gets the message to the right audience, delivered in the right context, at the right price, you can't go wrong. Hiring an experienced marketing consultant can help the new business owner to develop effective strategies. Various books are also available on marketing strategies and can shed more light on the options available.”