Marketing definitions – what is marketing?

Marketing is a concept that is defined in different ways:
– according to the American Marketing Association (AMA), all activities aimed at creating, communicating and providing products of value to the client and partners;
-Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller define marketing as activities that involve recognizing and meeting human needs.
– There is still, among others managerial definition of marketing, according to which conducting specific activities is aimed at increasing the sale of certain goods.

Types of Marketing

Marketing is a very broad term, so several types can be distinguished. Some of them are the fruit of modern times – they were created as a result of the spread of the Internet.

1. Internet marketing (e-marketing)
Is currently one of the most popular types. These are all activities that take into account the development of a strategy for placing a product on the market, its promotion. In this way, you can increase the company’s visibility on the web, including via the website.

2. Personnel marketing
It covers the activities of the company, whose goal is to build and maintain the image of a friendly, attractive and responsible company.

3. Sensory marketing
Sensory marketing is defined as activities that engage all the senses of potential customers. In this way, they can evoke appropriate associations and reactions that contribute to increasing brand awareness. One of the forms of sensory marketing is fragrance marketing. It consists in flavoring the rooms in order to create a pleasant atmosphere, e.g. at the point of sale or customer service point.

4. Sports marketing
These are activities aimed at promoting specific products, e.g. through sport sponsorship (e.g. sports teams, leagues, athletes).

5. Word of mouth marketing
This concept covers activities through which marketing information is to reach a potential customer. The channel of communication is usually a direct discussion. Whisper marketing is inherently associated with so-called buzz marketing. It means provoking discussion among consumers about the subject of the marketing campaign.

6. Mobile marketing
These are activities that use many tools, e.g. SMS ads, SMS surveys, MMS etc.

These forms of marketing are really the tip of the iceberg and do not exhaust the subject in any way. It should also be remembered that each of them still has its own branches and it is difficult to find a specialist who has done well in several at once. Therefore, the form of marketing that we choose should be closely related to the group of recipients of our products or services.

Internet marketing – “to be or not to be” of modern companies Although marketing has many names, it is Internet marketing that is the foundation of conducted activities. It is one of the fastest growing branches of marketing – due to the fact that many potential customers can be found online.

The main purpose of Internet marketing is to increase the visibility of the company on the Internet. Activities focus on building and consolidating the brand – recipient relationship. It is a bond in which the role of a potential customer is much greater compared to classic marketing. Here, the client ceases to be just a passive recipient of messages. Can conduct a dialogue with the brand and respond to specific marketing activities.

When it comes to internet marketing, many of the techniques and tools used can be mentioned. The most popular are:

– website positioning,
– Google Ads,
– mailing campaigns,
– content marketing,
– viral marketing,
– remarketing,
– video marketing,
– social media marketing,
– influnecer marketing.

It is worth emphasizing that internet marketing activities should be carried out on a multifaceted basis. Only then will they increase the chance of achieving satisfactory results that will bring them closer to achieving their business goals.

Marketing is not just sales …

Although marketing is associated with sales activities, its role is much broader. It also includes, among others: communication and market knowledge, analysis of conducted activities, preparation and implementation of specific strategies.

Restricting only to sales will not bring long-term effects. Here, you need a carefully thought-out strategy that includes a wide variety of activities carried out using a variety of techniques and tools.

What determines the effectiveness of marketing activities?

There is no universal recipe that would make marketing activities 100% effective. Efficiency depends on many factors, among which an important role is played by, among others:

– strategy developed,
– tools used,
– creation,
– matching to the target group,
– selection of channels building relationships with recipients.

It should be emphasized that marketing activities cannot be carried out intuitively. In this area, first of all, numbers count, so it is necessary to regularly measure the effectiveness of marketing. It is worth noting, among others on aspects such as:

– range,
– reactions,
– impact length,
– media quality,
– method of collecting the carried out action.

Return on investment (ROI) is also a fairly reliable indicator. It helps to estimate the ratio of profits to incurred advertising costs.

Classic or internet marketing?

It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, because a lot depends on the specifics of the company. The advantage of internet marketing is certainly the much wider range and much better adaptation to the needs and expectations of a particular customer (so-called personalized marketing).

If you have the opportunity, combine classic and internet marketing activities. Thanks to this, you will increase the chance of achieving the assumed goal – in line with the developed strategy.