WHAT IS MARKETING?

Marketing is a method of doing business. It consists of finding out what customers want & need, and then trying to profitably satisfy those desires/needs with products/services, using the resources available to the company.”

"In simple terms, marketing is a bridge that links the consumer side to the producer/supplier side."

Peter Drucker (godfather of marketing)

Marketing aims to make selling superfluous. Marketing seeks to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits them and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy.

RECAP:

• Marketing is understanding what a customer's needs and wants are, and satisfying – or exceeding – them at a profit. 
• One of the most important parts of marketing is customer market research which starts before the brand is created and is continued throughout its life cycle. 
• Every marketing team researches different aspects of the market but some of the more common things that they look into are:
  •  How an item is sold
  •  who buys it and why,
  • how is the end user utilizing it,
  •  what are they saying about it,
  • how does the competition behave,
  • pricing, packaging and much more. 

Quantitative research refers to hard data that can be extracted from POS terminals and depletion reports: numbers of units sold, average price paid, number of outlets stocking the product, etc.

 Qualitative research refers to “soft” data, searching for answers to questions such as “how does the product make you feel?” through focus groups and psychometric research.

The Difference between Marketing and Sales

As Brand ambassadors, we are often torn between marketing and sales. These two departments need to work together for a brand to be successful, but they have different objectives for making this happen. 

The marketing team focuses on creating the marketing plan, researching to stay on top of evolving trends and customer base, and creating products and services that satisfy the end consumers' wants and needs. 

• The sales team focuses on building distribution, executing the price strategy, activating the brand in the market, and executing the marketing plan. 

The Marketing Team focuses on creating products and services that the consumer wants.

A Sales Team is focused on trying to get customers (aka accounts) to want what the company already makes. 

For a successful strategy to work, the marketing and sales teams must work closely together and have a unified approach. Fundamentally, they are both trying to achieve the same thing. They are both trying to get more customers and higher revenue.