Friday , 29 March 2024

Bookstore – THE ROLE OF MARKETING

Definition of Sales and Marketing

Let’s set the scene: you’re on the couch, relaxing and watching television. Your mom is there watching as well—a commercial comes on that is funny and you both laugh. Your mother then says, “That was some good marketing.”

Now many questions arise: is an entertaining commercial really “marketing”? Is there a lot more that goes into it than just a funny idea? This seems like sales, what’s the difference between sales and marketing? What’s the definition of sales and marketing? What is inbound marketing? What is marketing research? Are there different distribution channels in marketing? The answers to these questions will be answered when we discuss the role of marketing and explain how everything works in this complex world.

Defining sales is pretty easy, as it states, “any of a number of activities designed to promote customer purchase of a product or service. Sales can be done in person or over the phone, through e-mail or other communication media. The process generally includes stages such as assessing customer needs, presenting product features and benefits to address those needs and negotiation on price, delivery and other elements.” (per American Marketing Association), learn more about open source affiliate software.

However, the term “marketing” can yield many different results, and many people may not know what the term truly means. So what does marketing mean? Marketing is defined as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” (per American Marketing Association).

This definition seems a little too simple, right? Especially with the buildup I gave you coming in—well it is correct, but it only covers the general term. There are many different aspects of marketing, such as inbound marketing, the difference between sales and marketing, how to do market research and the different functions of marketing. Now, let’s work on giving a more expanded definition of marketing and helping to understand that there’s a lot more than just creating “offerings that have value for customers.”

Introduction –What is the Purpose of Marketing?

Marketing has many different areas—one of which is inbound marketing, but we’ll get to that later. We’ll then analyze the difference between sales and marketing; then answer the question “what is inbound marketing”, which will include some inbound marketing examples. Finally, we’ll discuss the importance of marketing in business and wrap up what we’ve learned. First, we’re going to list the functions of marketing. In the marketing world there are seven functions of marketing and they are as follows: distribution, financing, market research, pricing, product and service management, promotion and selling.

7 Functions of Marketing

7 Functions of Marketing

  1. Distribution—Distribution Strategy in Marketing

Distribution strategy in marketing entails how a company is going to deliver its products or services to a customer. This strategy can vary depending on what service or good you’re offering, as there are different distribution channels in marketing. You’re not going to start a digital marketing agency in the middle of a wheat field in Kansas—you probably want to be in an urban area where there’s plenty of businesses around. Distribution strategy in marketing needs to be considered when developing any idea.

  1. Financing—The Role of Marketing in Business

If you want to have a successful marketing campaign, it’s going to take some money. You don’t want to throw all your eggs in one basket, but you still want to create a smart financial plan that allocates some ability to spend, but not so much that you don’t see a profit.

  1. Market Research—Importance of Market Research 

Market research is arguably the most crucial of the seven functions. What is marketing research? It revolves around researching your target demographic so you can build a sound marketing strategy. Effective market research requires using tools to find out who you should be targeting based on what you’re selling. If you’re a tech company that came up with a new social media platform, are you going to target octogenarians? Didn’t think so. If you want a more in-depth look at how to do market research, this article is a good starting point.

  1. Pricing—Again, the Importance of Market Research

Once you know how to do market research, you’ll find that market research also can help with pricing. Make sure you’re not losing any profits by selling too low. However, you don’t want to overcharge and then not see any kind of return because customers found a cheaper alternative.

  1. Product and Service Management—Measuring Advertising Effectiveness

In order to prevent falling behind with your customers, you must constantly make improvements to the product or service you offer. By staying on top of customer feedback and online reviews, you can see what’s working and what isn’t. Additionally, employing marketing performance metrics is a smart way to keep up with service management. Interested in learning more about marketing performance metrics? Check out this article

  1. Promotion—What Is Promotion in Marketing?

Promotion involves confirming your advertisements are seen in the right places by the right people. You’ll want to make sure there’s plenty of advertising from your brand’s end, as well as to keep up with which advertising strategies are trending. Advertising on Facebook is certainly a great place to focus your promotion efforts.

  1. Selling—What Is the Difference Between Sales and Marketing?

Selling is NOT marketing. But does provide an essential foundation for marketing. The selling process begins once you’ve completed market research and determined what your prospects want and need.

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