Do you Know Really What Marketing Is?

At business –and also professional's– world, there is a such important misunderstanding which affects marketing's perception, making organizations to take decisions that generate negative effects on their business and cannot be obviated. There are professionals who think that marketing is only about sales and advertising, also there are ones who consider advertising as marketing. It is common that middle and high level executives refer to «sale strategies» denominating them «marketing plans»; it is said «marketing campaign» when actually is talked about «advertising or promotion». Yes, sales and advertising concerns to marketing; however, they are only the tip of the marketing's iceberg. 

For consultants and professionals who work in marketing, it is necessary to discern if the consulted enterprise needs advertising, promotion or positioning. It is fundamental to take off wrong impressions that mix such different concepts between them. Until a few years ago, marketing was mostly integrated in commerce area. Through the years, achieved importance and gained independence as a medullar area developing the famous «4 p's» (which refers to: product, price, place and promotion). Today, it is supposed that marketing department has to build and produce without depending in other areas of the business; of course, keeping on a logic open communication, intern and dynamic, which achieve efficiency on function and concretion of objectives.

Marketing  is commonly considered as a sales impulse platform; however, must not be understood by the only «communication and sales» past concept, instead on the modern way of «understanding the customer and satisfying their needs»; otherwise, «detect and answer». It has to be made by an "outside-intern" point of view.

Here, basic descriptions which help on clearly differentiate these three concepts:

• Marketing: is the profitable relationships administration, towards creating value and establishing solid relations with customers.

• Advertising: is communication. It is information transit that allows people to know the product, company and brand. What doesn't communicates, doesn't exists.

• Sales: It is another way to get in touch with market by the companies. The objective is not to produce what market desires, but sell what is been produced.

«The sale process has a short-term vision and effects, while marketing has a long-term one».

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