Q&A - What is the purpose of marketing?

What makes someone buy a product? Or more importantly, what makes them buy the product you are trying to sell?

In business, you need to persuade a customer to part with money in exchange for a good or a service. You have decide on what the product is going to be like (e.g. shape, colour, size, features); at what price are you going to sell it; where you are going to sell it (e.g. in a shop, over the Internet, by mail order); and how you going to help the customer find out about the product (e.g. advertise in the local newspaper or on the radio). Marketing is all of these things. Its hard work – but it is a vital part of running a successful business.

Marketing is often defined as:

“The process of identifying, anticipating (predicting) and satisfying customer needs profitably”

That’s a bit of a mouthful. What does it mean?

• Identifying – finding out by using marketing research about current products, the possibility of new products, and current markets and new markets
• Anticipating (predicting) – analysing the data collected and using the managers skills to judge what might happen in these markets and how the products might be suited or changed, adapted or updated
• Satisfying customer needs – making sure the person, business or government are happy with what they are buying, will not complain and will be happy to buy again if appropriate
• Profitably – adding value to the product so when sold, the price of the product is greater than cost of the inputs.

All of these marketing activities take place in a market.