What is marketing: definition, types, goals, and functions

Marketing is an activity that aims to make a profit by meeting the needs of customers. It is a very generalized definition that shows the essence of any marketing activity: the ability to sell a product or service to a target audience.

 In a broader sense, marketing is a complex discipline that includes the ability to analyze a niche and competitors, predict consumer demand, and skillfully build communications with the target audience. In short, a professional marketer must understand how to turn the needs of people (B2C) or organizations (B2B) for services and goods into consumer demand.

Thus, if we describe marketing in brief – it is an activity to meet the needs of customers. It is the main goal of all marketing strategies of the company.

 To achieve the goal, marketers address the following challenges facing the business:

• Analysis of customer needs in the niche where the company operates. Is the product in demand, what criteria for selecting the target audience should be considered before releasing products for sale?
• Study of competitors’ offers in the market, as well as pricing in a particular niche. The company’s pricing policy is developed based on the obtained data.
• Adjustment of an assortment of goods and services to consumer demand. Most companies, when entering the market, work with existing demand. Therefore, promoting an illiquid product is often an unprofitable venture. On the other hand, to promote a new product requires a large budget to create demand, but also all the “cream” will get you.
• Running activities aimed at increasing demand, sales of products. This online and offline advertising, viral promotion, word of mouth, and other techniques.
• Service, customer support. Ideal marketing is not just a single sale of goods, but a technology for turning customers into loyal customers. Everything is important in this system: the quality of products, the quality of service, and responsive support.

The following principles help to effectively solve marketing problems: understanding the company’s production capabilities, the ability to plan events to sell products or services. In addition, the company should be able to respond flexibly to changing demand, update the product range to the needs of the TA.

Functions

We have considered above what marketing is and defined its goals, objectives, and principles. Next, we will get acquainted with the five key functions of marketing:

1. Analytical. A set of activities to investigate external and internal factors that affect the company, market, and consumer demand. It includes the analysis of the niche and competitors, the study of TA needs, and forecasting of consumer behavior. In addition, the company’s internal operations are also analyzed, i.e. how well does the corporate environment correspond to the demands of the time and how does the company look like compared to its competitors.
2. Production. These functions are responsible for the introduction of new technologies into the production process. The process itself could be subdivided into several components: organization of purchases, sales of goods and services, warehousing, and others. Production functions also solve problems of quality management and competitiveness of goods on the market and control the conformity of products to quality standards.
3. Management and Control. Responsible for the planning processes of marketing activities in the company. They also provide information support for customers and partners and risk management.
4. Sales. Everything is responsible for the formation of the pricing and product policy of the company. In a broader sense, sales also include activities to expand demand for goods and services, the development of new markets.
5. Innovative. Development and introduction of the new product to the market.

The functionality is supported by the following marketing methods – survey, analysis of the market situation, observation, study of consumer demand. In terms of product promotion, advertising technologies in an online and offline environment, PR, personal sales, consultations are used.

Tools

Marketing is the process of turning a consumer into a customer. Marketing tools are used to realize this task. Conventionally they can be divided into four groups: price, products, sales, advertising.

Let’s dwell in more detail on the tools of Internet marketing:

1. Contextual advertising.
2. SEO.
3. SMM.
4. Targeted advertising.
5. Banner and teaser advertising.
6. Viral Advertising.
7. Content marketing.
8. Retargeting.
9. Promotion in aggregators of goods and services.
10. Push messages.
11. Messengers.
12. E-mail marketing.
13. Mobile applications.

Summary

We have understood what marketing is in simple words. We have studied its goals, objectives, and functions. We got acquainted with the tools and types. In conclusion, I would like to say: it is not enough to understand what marketing is, you need to constantly implement marketing strategies in practice. Then you will achieve great success in your business.