What Is Marketing?

Posted by Greg Bond

October 9, 2007

The AMA has made a big deal regarding a change for the definition of Marketing. I’m not one who likes to get caught-up on definitions; after all, when someone hears a familiar word, they already have their own ideas on what it means to them. I would guess the majority of people affiliate marketing with media outlets such as television and magazine ads. But, if you are reading this article, marketing probably means much more to you than just that. Regardless of your definition of marketing, the core of it hasn’t changed at all. However, it does have a new image.

The internet has offered reflections on marketing from every angle. Just Google ‘death of marketing’. It yields hundreds of results that showcase a trend in redefining marketing. This is a result of a paradigm shift in businesses realizing marketing encompasses a much broader spectrum than ever before. The argument is the same in every other expanding genre, too, like when musicians sing about the death of hip-hop and rock & roll. Both marketing and music have grown and resulted in many new niches. The game has evolved. Since ‘marketing’ has taken on many new avenues in recent years, thanks to the internet and other enabling technologies, we aren’t sure how to categorize all the new business practices. Questions pop up like: Where does marketing stop and public relations begin? Or, should we ditch marketing all together, since consumer/customer relations seems more appropriate?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. It’s all up to the businesses who are concerned with labeling. After reflection on the subject, I came to my personal definition:

Marketing - a business function responsible for facilitating relationships between brands and consumers.

The definition is broad, simplistic, and might not ring true for everyone, but it’s also hard to disregard. When I picture a marketing canvas, I see a huge blank slate between a business and its consumers. Marketing is the entire image. The image of the business from every consumers’ perspective, the businesses’ view of all its consumers, and the best practices to maximize connections between the two.

Like an artist, marketers are free to paint their own reality. We have countless options, countless realities to manifest. So, it doesn’t matter what you call marketing. Marketing will still remain the department of consumer relations in colleges; the majority of businesses will still be calling whatever “it” is marketing, and we’ll always have misconceptions on what people perceive as marketing.

For me, I ditch the lame jargon. Instead, I try to work on giving a tried and true field a better name. Marketing isn’t about what you call something, even though it technically is; time and time again, history has proven that actions speak louder than words. Deliver, make an impact, follow through on promises, and call your position whatever makes you feel best.

I’ll call “it” marketing.