The answer to the question; “What exactly is marketing?” will vary depending on who you ask. Some will tell you that marketing is about reaching a defined target group through analysis, planning, and execution of campaigns, while others would like to say that marketing is about “connecting” with the target group – but what is really right?

Definition

We often look to the States if we are to define something. The American Marketing Association defines it as follows: “Marketing includes all the activities, organizations and work processes that contribute to creating, conveying, delivering and exchanging offers that have value for customers, clients, partners and society as a whole”.

Taking customer needs seriously

Good marketing takes customers’ needs seriously and contributes to developing and improving products and services potential customers need. Good marketing helps to inform the public, manage expectations and make good consumption decisions.

Focus points

If done correctly, marketing contributes to, among other things;

• Increased brand awareness
• Increased traffic
• Increased turnover
• Trust in the brand
• Tracking of development

What do we mean?

Marketing depends a little – like most things in life, on the eye of the beholder. Some will argue that marketing deals exclusively with the 4 P’s, while others will say that there are good campaigns with high conversion rates. We believe that good marketing is a combination of “all of the above”. Neither exclusively good campaigns nor high brand awareness are enough by themselves to be called good or successful marketing. In contrast, a composition and a lot of trial and error are what we consider to be good marketing.