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| How would you define Marketing? | Views: 2064 |
| Dec 18, 2004 3:19 pm | | How would you define Marketing? | # |
Leslie Wolff | | One of the best descriptions I've ever read was in a book published in the late 60's by Theodore Levitt, the Marketing Guru of the Harvard Business School. It described Marketing as
"All the exhilarating big things and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire corporate organization in order to achieve the purpose of attracting and holding a customer."
It's been a major stone in the solid foundations I've built for clients over the last 4 decades.
What's your idea of Marketing?
Have a great holiday.
Les WolffPrivate Reply to Leslie Wolff |
| Dec 18, 2004 5:48 pm | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Beth | | Beth's First Response:
HARD WORK!
8~P
Cheers!
Beth
> Leslie Wolff wrote:
>What's your idea of Marketing?
Private Reply to Beth |
| Dec 19, 2004 8:50 pm | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Travis Hughes Interactive | | > Leslie Wolff wrote:
> One of the best descriptions I've ever read was in a book published in the late 60's by Theodore Levitt, the Marketing Guru of the Harvard Business School. It described Marketing as
>
>"All the exhilarating big things and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire corporate organization in order to achieve the purpose of attracting and holding a customer."
>
>It's been a major stone in the solid foundations I've built for clients over the last 4 decades.
>
>What's your idea of Marketing?
"Creating, Mananging and Regulating demand".
So often marketers forget that regulating (and in effect creating scarcity) is just as effective if not more effective than generating demand the 'old fashioned' way.
Think to exclusive clubs, the old "Member's Only Jackets", limited edition beanie babies, etc.
- TravisPrivate Reply to Travis Hughes Interactive |
| Dec 21, 2004 1:01 am | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
John Nelson, The Sales Expert | | I take a little different approach to marketing. In my world I come accross businesses that bleed money on marketing that doesn't work. Why doesn't it work? Sometimes it's because it is bad marketing but often times it's good marketing but the problem lies in the selling process. The sales people and their selling process aren't capable of closing the deal Often times I find they have confused marketing and selling. My definition of marketing is: any and all acitivities that are designed to create a voice to voice or face to face contact between the prospect and the company. Selling is about turning those contacts into business. In essence, marketing is about getting more and better pitches for the sales person to swing at and hopefully get a sale. These businesses that are wasting money on marketing often times don't have their sales processes and marketing processes lined up. The result is disaster. I often am called in too late to save a company because they kept on trying to market their way to success and have used up all of their funds.
In some businesses--usually small ticket item retail--there is little or no selling process required and it's all about marketing. When I sit down with owners of companies and have them take apart their marketing and selling processes the response is usually one of horror and shock as they recognize much of their marketing budget has been completely wasted. It may be wasted even if the marketing is bringing semi-qualified prospects into the pipeline becasuse their salespeople aren't closing the deal. Another challenge is that their sales people may not really be selling, they may continue to "market" to their prospects and attempt to educate them. Another contributing factor is that after the boom time of the 90's we've got an entire generation of sales people that can't sell. They had great sales numbers during a great economy but often times they weren't selling for a at all--they were just taking orders!) These factors make for a disasterous selling process because they will drive the prospect intellectual and counter human nature. Selling, unless you want it to only be a numbers game, is about finding the compelling emotional reason to do business.
I'm a huge fan of effective marketing. To me it is like magic beacause it can raise the batting average of a good sales person to great and a great sales person to fantastic and I really have very little idea how that's done. As good as the marketing may be though, I haven't seen much success in it turning a poor sales person a good one.
Happy selling!
John Nelson...the Sales Expert.
> Leslie Wolff wrote:
> One of the best descriptions I've ever read was in a book published in the late 60's by Theodore Levitt, the Marketing Guru of the Harvard Business School. It described Marketing as
>
>"All the exhilarating big things and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire corporate organization in order to achieve the purpose of attracting and holding a customer."
>
>It's been a major stone in the solid foundations I've built for clients over the last 4 decades.
>
>What's your idea of Marketing?
>
>Have a great holiday.
>
>Les WolffPrivate Reply to John Nelson, The Sales Expert |
| Dec 21, 2004 1:12 am | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Chen Sun | | I never liked these type of definitions . In such definitions, their derivatives are as such--In a marketing oriented company--everything engineering and manufacturing does is also marketing focused. So, before one knows it, nearly everything with such firm is marketing. If everything in a marketing oriented company is marketing, then what is marketing is such a company?
One doesn't have to be a marketing oriented company, as Travis pointed out. Only in a marketplace where buyers have preponderant power does the seller have to be a marketing company. If, for example, one is building nuclear submarines (which I believe there's only one US supplier) this is not exactly a marketing-oriented company. The Rothschilds of South Africa's diamonds have done everything they could for many decades to destroy the buyers' marketplace. Diamonds prices are astronomically high because of artificial controls on supply. Whether this is good marketing or not, I'm unsure, but I do know these are extremely profitable practices.
More importantly such definitions suggests expending an unprofitable amount of energy. Again, its derivative is--do everything that's marketing related. This is wrong. To me, marketing means selecting among different paths with different ROI. Marketing is very difficult in this way.... I don't think any one step is difficult, but there are many different routes to profitability. And because most markets in the world presently are buyers-power dominated, marketing-oriented is the more desirable position to be in this stage of history.
Chen Sun
www.WebAndNet.com, a Web Inventions eNterprise
WINning Solutions TM
> Leslie Wolff wrote:
> One of the best descriptions I've ever read was in a book published in the late 60's by Theodore Levitt, the Marketing Guru of the Harvard Business School. It described Marketing as
>
>"All the exhilarating big things and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire corporate organization in order to achieve the purpose of attracting and holding a customer."
>
>It's been a major stone in the solid foundations I've built for clients over the last 4 decades.
>
>What's your idea of Marketing?
>
>Have a great holiday.
>
>Les Wolff Private Reply to Chen Sun |
| Dec 21, 2004 5:59 pm | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Travis Hughes Interactive | |
> John Nelson, The Sales Expert wrote:
> I take a little different approach to marketing. In my world I come accross businesses that bleed money on marketing that doesn't work. Why doesn't it work? Sometimes it's because it is bad marketing but often times it's good marketing but the problem lies in the selling process. The sales people and their selling process aren't capable of closing the deal Often times I find they have confused marketing and selling. My definition of marketing is: any and all acitivities that are designed to create a voice to voice or face to face contact between the prospect and the company. Selling is about turning those contacts into business.
>>
What's interesting is the number of people who think "we've made a great product. All we need to do now is market it with some brochures, a press release and an ad in the industry rag and sales will flow in."
Private Reply to Travis Hughes Interactive |
| Jan 21, 2005 7:51 pm | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Rand Bleimeister | | I like Sergio Zyman's definition.... Zyman was the former Chief Marketing Officer of the Coca-Cola Company.
He said (I paraphrase):
The purpose of marketing is to sell more stuff to more people, more frequently, for more money, more efficiently.
Rand Bleimeister
CEO
OnAir Entertainment
rand@onairentertainmen.com
www.onairentertainment.com
> Chen Sun wrote:
> I never liked these type of definitions . In such definitions, their derivatives are as such--In a marketing oriented company--everything engineering and manufacturing does is also marketing focused. So, before one knows it, nearly everything with such firm is marketing. If everything in a marketing oriented company is marketing, then what is marketing is such a company?
>
>One doesn't have to be a marketing oriented company, as Travis pointed out. Only in a marketplace where buyers have preponderant power does the seller have to be a marketing company. If, for example, one is building nuclear submarines (which I believe there's only one US supplier) this is not exactly a marketing-oriented company. The Rothschilds of South Africa's diamonds have done everything they could for many decades to destroy the buyers' marketplace. Diamonds prices are astronomically high because of artificial controls on supply. Whether this is good marketing or not, I'm unsure, but I do know these are extremely profitable practices.
>
>More importantly such definitions suggests expending an unprofitable amount of energy. Again, its derivative is--do everything that's marketing related. This is wrong. To me, marketing means selecting among different paths with different ROI. Marketing is very difficult in this way.... I don't think any one step is difficult, but there are many different routes to profitability. And because most markets in the world presently are buyers-power dominated, marketing-oriented is the more desirable position to be in this stage of history.
>
>Chen Sun
>www.WebAndNet.com, a Web Inventions eNterprise
>WINning Solutions TM
>
>> Leslie Wolff wrote:
>> One of the best descriptions I've ever read was in a book published in the late 60's by Theodore Levitt, the Marketing Guru of the Harvard Business School. It described Marketing as
>>
>>"All the exhilarating big things and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire corporate organization in order to achieve the purpose of attracting and holding a customer."
>>
>>It's been a major stone in the solid foundations I've built for clients over the last 4 decades.
>>
>>What's your idea of Marketing?
>>
>>Have a great holiday.
>>
>>Les Wolff Private Reply to Rand Bleimeister |
| Mar 30, 2005 2:22 pm | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Anil Kumar | | Hi Leslie,
Kudos for bringing up an oft repeated confusion. while reading others I thought I will put mine as well.well, for me- Marketing is identifying a need of a prospect, which he may or may not have realised, then creating soemthign for satisfying that need and packign and deliverign that solution in a way the customer likes and gives a value what we like.
Thats wht marketign for me..
Best success
AnilPrivate Reply to Anil Kumar |
| Mar 31, 2005 4:20 am | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Harish Agarwal | | Hi Les,
Its interesting to see so many viewpoints on one subject. I am in fact in the business of marketing, so I thought I will share my experience also. To me, "The purpose of all Marketing is to create opportunity for sales and then making sure there is no post purchase dissonance"
Hope that adds value..
Cheers
Harish Private Reply to Harish Agarwal |
| Apr 03, 2005 1:49 am | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Leslie Wolff | | Anil -
Thanks for your note. I seemed to have ignited interest in a subject in which everyone has an opinion, but many are short on actual experience.
Your description is on target, but what frustrates me is whether I'm dealing in the rarefied air of Fortune 500 senior management ranks or a new entrepreneurial effort there are few who have mastered Marketing 101. The reasons vary depending on the situation, but is rarely because of intellect. I'd be interested in hearing others view as to why this phenomenon exists.
My personal approach to helping clients market is based on 3 steps.
1) Think big, you can always trim down a big idea you can't do much with a small one.
2) Think wild and outside-the-box, because you can tame a wild idea down, but you can't do much with a dull one.
3) Understand "perfect is the enemy of great', jump into the pool tread water until you learn to swim. Waiting for the perfect time guarantees you will never achive greatness.
Les
Private Reply to Leslie Wolff |
| Apr 07, 2005 1:55 pm | | re: re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
steve chichester | | I say marketing is presenting and promoting an idea (want to go to the movies?); good marketing is presenting and promoting an idea in a way that is expected to produce specific measurable predetermined results; (want to go to the movies? We can get pop corn and cuddle and who knows what after?) One marketing approach effective company's use is marketing them selves to their employees to maintain or improve company image, morale, cooperation, productivity. The same attitude is often used in marketing to its prospects and potential buyers. Steve Chichester
organizational development
empowering pro*active people Private Reply to steve chichester |
| Apr 19, 2005 11:07 am | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Kabir Sahib | | Greetings Mr. Leslie,
Peter Drucker, a leading management theorist, puts it this way
There will always, one can assume, be need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.
The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy.
All that should be needed then is to make the product or service unavailable.
(Credits to Philip Kotler - Marketing Management)
I definitely agree with Mr. Drucker's view and have experienced it in course of my dealings with prospective clients. Just makes life so simpler :)
have a wonderful week!
cheers!
Kabir SahibPrivate Reply to Kabir Sahib |
| Apr 24, 2005 1:14 am | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Leslie Wolff | | Thanks for your reminder of the teachings of one of the best business and marketing minds that ever existed. Below is one of my favorite Peter Drucker quotes.
"So much of what we call ‘management’ consists in making it difficult for people to work.” - Peter DruckerPrivate Reply to Leslie Wolff |
| Apr 25, 2005 4:40 am | | re: re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
dilip singh laishram | | Dear friends,
I dont go by any particular definition given in the book about marketing but what i do feel best about marketing is that "As long as you have something to give for your customer/buyer in the define market of your products, all the process both direct and indirect which involve to pull in those customer is marketing" it can both internal and external. Never the less marketing is all about putting your products in the marketing and killing competitors products, it should only my and my product or nothing else.
Dilip singh Private Reply to dilip singh laishram |
| May 01, 2005 11:09 am | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
case ashe | | I think people confuse marketing with publicity and/or advertising.
Marketing is a strategy. If you know that someone will buy one or two of your items on a reg basis - before you even start up - that's just as much part of your marketing strategy as a national newspaper campaign.
OK
said my bit
this is an interesting network
regards
CasePrivate Reply to case ashe |
| May 01, 2005 7:28 pm | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Douglas Karr | | I agree - there is a HUGE disconnect between people's understanding of Advertising and Marketing. My explanation is this:
Advertising is an event, Marketing is a process.
Advertising is going fishing. Marketing is choosing the bait, the day, the boat, checking the weather, the right rod, etc. AND after you're done, figuring out what worked and what didn't work so you can catch more fish the next day!
I've seen some similar explanations with CRM that have parallels... CRM is a journey, not a destination. I think Marketing is synonymous (and, or course, encompasses Customer Relationship Management).
Doug
http://dbmarketing-network.ryze.com/Private Reply to Douglas Karr |
| May 02, 2005 2:42 am | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Leslie Wolff | | The confusion is because many don't realize advertising and PR are part of the marketing mix,
Les
Private Reply to Leslie Wolff |
| May 02, 2005 7:07 am | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Brian Kovalesky | | I would define marketing, in a very broad sense, as "identifying and acting on opportunities and advantages."
-Brian KovaleskyPrivate Reply to Brian Kovalesky |
| May 05, 2005 2:58 am | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Leslie Wolff | | Brian - I believe you are right in a broad sense, but what separates the great marketers from the crowd are the processes and procedure they utilize to:
- Determine what opportunities exist.
- Select which ones to to pursue.
- Define how best to maximize those opportunities.
- Convince mgmt and others to accept change.
- Establish a risk oriented environment.
- Take the actions necessry to launch these efforts in a way that catches their competition off guard.
- Create a measurement/evaluation system to determine the ROI.
Les Private Reply to Leslie Wolff |
| May 05, 2005 2:50 pm | | re: re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Douglas Karr | | I would add that good marketers understand their customers as well as their prospects and understand how (in words and mediums) to speak to them directly. When marketing talent fades, out comes SPAM, 'Get Rich Quick', Price Promotions, and 'Buy Now and get a free Spatula'.
Doug
http://dbmarketing-network.ryze.com/
http://indy-network.ryze.com/Private Reply to Douglas Karr |
| May 09, 2005 11:25 pm | | re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Dan B | | You can bag an animal by finding its trail, following it and attacking it -- this is Sales -- or you can put out a big pile of food and wait for the animal to come to the food -- this is marketing. That's it. Making the animal want to stay with you is achieved by training it with both a whip and a reward. Private Reply to Dan B |
| May 10, 2005 6:45 am | | re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Leslie Wolff | | Dan -
I come from th eschool that believes you have to do whatever is necessary to "bag" the animal and hold on to it.
Thiswas best described in a book published in 1969, "Marketing for Growth" by Theodore Levitt who was the Mktg prof at Harvard Biz School. Teddy said
"Marketing is all the exhilarating big things and all the troublesome little things that must be done in every nook and cranny of the entire corporate organization to attract and retain a customer."
Les
Private Reply to Leslie Wolff |
| May 16, 2005 10:07 pm | | re: re: re: How would you define Marketing? | # |
Dan B | | With all due respect to you and Teddy -- things are a bit more specialized in business today than to lump everything under the marketing moniker. Even on the sales side of the equation there are those who must get close enough to use a shot-gun, and those who are such sharp shooters, they can take an elephant down from a 1000 yards. Treating everyone the same will get you into trouble! Luring every animal with the same tools is just as precarious. Private Reply to Dan B |
| Jul 08, 2005 4:59 am | | re: REDEFINE marketing! | # |
j n | | Easy....Marketing = The sum total of your credibility. Period.
Marketing is everything you do in your organization that affects your credibility: inside and outside. it has very little to do with corporate colors and logos and alot to do with leadership, credibility and alignment.
The definition of "Marketing" as most people understand it is no longer relevant - it is limited and largely focused on corporate machinations to control thier image through a veil of secrecy, manipulation and corporate BS.
In an saturated marketplace, credibility - is all that matters. This stems from a business consistently delivering on its promise, in turn this is only possible when a business has a deep internal credibility among its employees, involving trust, leadership and meaningful work.
Most companies are not like this at all.Leaving huge swathes of opportunity to those org's that can be bothered to transform thier businesses properly.
James Nash Blog: www.onevoice.biz Private Reply to j n |
| Jul 22, 2005 2:29 am | | re: re: REDEFINE marketing! | # |
John Anghelache | | The best definition I've ever heard of marketing is by a true marketing expert, Dan Kennedy. His definition is (and I'm paraphrasing)... "Getting the right message to the right people at the right time."
John Private Reply to John Anghelache |
| Jul 23, 2005 3:50 pm | | re: re: re: REDEFINE marketing! | # |
Edward Chenard | | Very interesting topic. I’m in New York right now and have spoken to many companies about their marketing while in town. The definition is all over the place. Some see it as a very ad focused approach, just make an ad, get the customer. Others see it as a sales approach, make enough cold calls with the right pitch. Still others feel if you combine direct marketing approaches of direct mail and telemarketing, then that is marketing. To me, these approaches are parts of marketing.
I like to define marketing as a process and strategy where a promise is created, expectations are delivered and profits are made. I don’t like to limit marketing as I have found when it is at all touch points, ROI is great improved. Various industries I have talked to all look at different ways to achieve this, some even considered client satisfaction to not be a part of marketing at all which blew me away as I feel it is a core piece.
Edward
Private Reply to Edward Chenard |
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