Marketing is about communicating the value of a product, service or brand to customers
or consumers for the purpose of promoting or selling that product,
service, or brand. The oldest – and perhaps simplest and most natural
form of marketing – is 'word of mouth' (WOM) marketing, in which
consumers convey their experiences of a product, service or brand in
their day-to-day communications with others. These communications can of
course be either positive or negative.
In for-profit enterprise the main purpose of marketing is to increase
product sales and therefore the profits of the company. In the case of
nonprofit marketing, the aim is to increase the take-up of the
organization's services by its consumers or clients. Governments often
employ social marketing to communicate messages with a social purpose,
such as a public health or safety message, to citizens. In for-profit
enterprise marketing often acts as a support for the sales team by
propagating the message and information to the desired target audience.
Marketing techniques include choosing target markets through market
analysis and market segmentation, as well as understanding consumer
behavior and advertising a product's value to the customer.
From a societal point of view, marketing provides the link between a
society's material requirements and its economic patterns of response.
Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through the development of
exchange processes and the building of long-term relationships.
Marketing can be considered a marriage of art and applied science (such
as behavioural sciences) and makes use of information technology.
Marketing is applied in enterprise and organisations via marketing management techniques.
