What is marketing? A definition (or several)...

If you work in marketing then you may have tussled (like me) with how to eloquently explain what you do for a job.

The trouble is the average member of the public is exposed to so many advertising messages that as soon as you say “marketing” they think advertising…. billboards, TV ads… or (worse) evil spammers!

The same problem can occur internally in businesses where the role of marketing can be relegated to the ‘end’ product, or the dreaded ‘colouring in department’. Aka we’ve done all the research, made this product, now do some ads or promotion to make it sell.

As a friend and fellow marketer Chris Costley recently pointed out on LinkedIn, this approach means you’ll largely miss the value that marketers can add – to the STRATEGY, to the RESEARCH – and to even shaping the eventual product – whether that is a physical product or a service.

For me, the best role for marketing in an organisation is looking across the entire customer journey – not just advertising. When marketing works this way it acts as the voice of the customer and drives real business goals such as revenue, customer growth, reducing churn etc.

For me it’s the difference between developing strategies that give businesses a real edge vs rolling out more and more tactics (another Instagram post anyone?).

Thinking promotion or advertising first, misses the huge value of looking at what is actually needed.

For example in a service business perhaps it’s a sharp referral system. In another business the product might be aimed at the wrong market entirely and needs a different growth strategy.

Over the years I’ve collected some favourite definitions of mine, that I think help raise how people think of marketing….

Here’s to getting out of the colouring in department and into the strategy arena!

Marketing is . . . getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you. John Jantsch

Marketing is “Anything that gets or keeps customers.” Ryan Holiday

Marketing is "Where instead of press releases or billboards, essentially anything can be considered “marketing” if it drives new customers into the service — from product development and optimization to engineering distribution partnerships." Ryan Holiday

Marketing is the name we use to describe the promises a company makes, the story it tells, the authentic way it delivers on that promise. Seth Godin

What's your own definition of marketing? I'd love to hear!

C