From the very start of early development, people used the term “marketing” in different entertaining ways. Being known from a core context to this term or not, intentionally or unintentionally; people define and mean this very important term from their perspective.
Many people blend marketing with the term “shopping”, many think that marketing is “personal branding and showing off” to people. Besides, many people think that marketing is only “selling” or “advertising”. While being from a marketing background, we have a completely different understanding of marketing.
Marketing is actually, and factually everything. It is almost everything and the only thing that directs the organization within and beyond the line of success. Certainly, many other functions like HRM, financing, accounting, SCM, and so on support the success; but marketing is the only function that assesses, boosts, and reaches the milestones of the whole organization. Marketing endlessly adds value to all levels of customers.
Professor Philip Kotler who is one of the world’s leading authorities on marketing says in his book:
“Principles of Marketing” – “Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. More broadly, marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and organizations obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging value with others”.
Today, marketing can be defined from the perspective of an “adjustment” in the sense that organizations nowadays always prioritize and adjust to the emerging trends and ideas that come ahead. Marketing was present many decades back, and now it is also present with its richness and advancement. But always the objective is to cope with and satisfy the customer needs by adjusting the way they need it, the way they want it, and the way they demand it.
Referring to a few of the most important, emerging, and challenging concepts nowadays with an adjustment perspective.
Relationship Marketing
“A key goal of marketing is to develop deep, enduring relationships with people and organizations that could directly or indirectly affect the success of the firm’s marketing activities. Relationship marketing aims to build mutually satisfying long-term relationships with key constituents in order to earn and retain their business.”
Philip Kotler | Text: MARKETING MANAGEMENT – A SOUTH ASIAN PERSPECTIVE
Environmental Marketing
“Environmental marketing is the holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying the requirements of customers and society, in a profitable and sustainable way.”
Ken Peattie | Text: ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT – MEETING THE GREEN CHALLENGE
Digital Marketing
“Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the marketing of products or services using digital technologies, mainly on the internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium. Digital marketing activities are search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (sem), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, and e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e–books, optical disks and games, and any other form of digital media. It also extends to non-internet channels that provide digital media, such as mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callback and on-hold mobile ring tones.”
Wikipedia | JULY 2016
The above definitions reveal the truth of the adjustment-based view of marketing. Everything an organization does is to cope and satisfy the customer’s needs by adjusting the way they need it, the way they want it, and the way they demand it. The organization captures those customer needs with the intention of achieving short-term or long-term success in terms of ROI, brand image, performance, and the like. It ensures that no trends go away without being tapped by the marketing wing of the organization. This adjustment view works whether it is traditional marketing when options to the customer are fewer, or today’s relationship marketing, environmental marketing, digital marketing, or even any other embryonic concepts.
While we step ahead, the entities and scopes of marketing are extending into different spaces. Concepts are being adjusted which were unbelievable in earlier times.
