For a long time, companies focused on WHAT they sold (Product). Then there was a shift to WHERE they sold (Place). Somewhere during the 1960s and 1970s there was a shift more rigorous attempts to segment and target specific potential customers (People).

It has now become science. We began to study demographics, geographics, psychographics, technographics, and buying behavior as a way of better understanding People. Today it’s even more data drive. For example, we now track and use data on a consumer’s browsing and research behavior, content consumption, transaction history, service inquiries and social network activity which influence segmentation and targeting

Let’s look at “People” more closely.

• “People” or targeting has almost always been left out of the traditional “Marketing Mix.” Almost every diagram includes the four P’s with Product, Promotion, Place and Price.
• As a marketing professional or new to the game of marketing, look at new, existing and repeat customers.
• Assign “consumer, “People” or “potential buyers” in the middle of a circle. Add the other components in the nine P’s. In Marketing, from my education, training, research and analysis plus testimony, there needs to be greater focus on the “Customer” or “People.”
• “People” or market segments may utilize demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavioral characteristics and technographics, which may be a vital component or components of the 9P’s of Marketing.
• Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market segment.

Defining a target market requires market segmentation; the process of segmenting the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable units based on:

• Demographics (such as age, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, culture, generation, nationality, and social class).
• Geographics (where your potential buyers are located by street, city, region, nation or global)
• Psychographics (buyers are on basis of psychological/personality traits, lifecycle, values)
• Behavioral characteristics (needs and benefits, decision roles, user and usage-related variables, occasions, user status, usage rate buyer-readiness stage, loyalty status, attitude and multiple bases) 
• Technographics or technographical characteristics. Understand your potential consumer. Remember, in the back of your mind, that the reason technology is phenomenal is because it displaces years, or centuries, of previous technology. Consumers may or may not have the skills. Think employees here too. The reason technology skills are transitory is because they will almost certainly be displaced, too.

Checking to see whether any of these market segments are large enough to support the organization’s product. 

We like using MSADA: The concept on segments. They need to be: Measurable; Substantial; Accessible; Differential/Different; Actionable

Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market.

A couple of examples:

• A unique example of targeting and reading the data. PayPal looked at segmentation and was finding a segment of their customers who were buying women’s products, men’s products, electronics, haircare product for both sexes plus dresses and tuxedoes. It was a multitude of both men’s and women’s products. From research and planning, they found out that their customers (couples/partners/husbands and wives) were using one ID and password. It was two sexes, one login.
• A segment of car buyers when they think of Jeep, they think of running wild and free off road and driving on sand dunes. Jeep has targeted behavior and psychological needs of their target segment of Jeep buyers.
• Facebook shows content to different users based on their preferences and demographics.
• Snapchat is mostly millennials, really young people and high school and teens.

The 2 Guyz on Marketing say, “Be sure to look at competing FOR the customer more than AGAINST your competition.” 

The more you discover, learn, know, and understand about “your” potential and actual “People” who are buying your product, the more successful in marketing you will be!

For more Marketing insights, ideas, concepts and Marketing solutions: Go to Londremarketing.com and look under “Articles and Resources” and the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007. Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s or Nine P’s/9P’s of Marketing.

*Created by Larry Steven Londre. Copyright 2007.

As Marketing instructors, the 2 Guyz On Marketing know we need to teach the basics, but it’s the hot topics that usually spur on the best class discussions. They knew, everyone gets to learn, and they are happening right in front of our eyes.

Teachers know that fall is a more enjoyable semester, for a variety of reasons, starting with it’s the start of the school year and summer has almost gone by.  So, what will marketing students be studying this fall in “M” school? Here’s our picks for the top 10 topics.

Influencer Marketing – While it’s been around for a while, we’re really just learning what works and what doesn’t. Look for meaty discussions in the areas of disclosure and micro influencers.

Privacy and Personalization – On the one hand, ads now follow us around the Internet, trying to sell us stuff we looked at moments before. At the same time, look for increased privacy issues, breaches of security, and ethics discussions. Can be boring but highly relevant now and in the future. Europe has had an impact on U.S. companies, such as Facebook and Google. Seems like breaches are in the news all of the time.

Social Media Advertising – Facebook’s financial and bad publicity woes may shake up ad spending in the social arena. Look for emerging trends as more money flows into Instagram, Snap Chat, and LinkedIn.

Truth (of Lack of) In Advertising – With November elections just around the corner and an era of dishonesty overshadowing politics, look for some crazy political marketing and advertising to hit the media.

Gen Z – They’re here! This year’s freshman class of college will be helping shape the way we perceive this newest age of demographics and psychographics.

Millennials – And they’re not gone…anything but! Millennials are changing as we watch, hitting middle management, starting their families, and maybe “settling down.  Many product and service categories are affected by their numbers and buying influences.  And remember, they’re set to inherit a lot of wealth from the Baby Boom generation.

Big Data, Little Data, Analytics and Metrics – While many students choose marketing, advertising and PR as a way of getting away from math, numbers, and analysis, they’re mistaken. Marketing decisions are increasingly driven by number crunching and predictive analytics.

Content Marketing – Content marketing has been around, but is really coming of age. We are beginning to understand how to better leverage our ability to communicate, engage, and eventually sell through messaging other than just paid advertising.

Technology Meets Experience – Experiential Marketing continues to progress at a feverish pace. Trying clothes or glasses on, building your dream car, visiting a foreign land, it can all be done “virtually.” Look for new technologies to leave the realm of simply “possible” and become the new “practice.”

We will guaranteed another eyes-wide open semester.

Target markets is a marketing term and target audiences is a media term. Think buyers and consumers of media as a differentiator.

One of the most common ways to segment markets and audiences is by generations. We all know the Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials. Those coming of age now are the “Digital Natives,” aka “Gen Z.”

While the marketing world is worrying about what to call the next generation, they are thrusting themselves onto the scene. Millennials are about 21ish to late 30-something. Digital Natives are right behind.

Generational segmenting is good for marketers because we have learned people within a given generation tend to share many traits and behaviors, making it easy for us to target them with appropriate products and services.

Millennials have dominated conversation in recent years, in large part to both their size as a generation (the largest our country has ever seen) as well their habits, some endearing, some not. We’ve seen the proliferation of take-out, delivery and avocado toast.

Well, the Millennials better look out, because the Digital Natives are making their presence be known! Since the most recent school shooting tragedy in Florida, mainstream news has been covered with images of young people protesting the government’s lack of government response to calls for gun control.

What’s interesting is that this group or segment has largely come to the fore since Donald Trump was elected president, emerging in part at last year’s Women’s March. Now they are the lead story in papers and the evening news.

Millennials have not been politically charged or motivated. In fact, according to Pew Research, less than have voted in the last election (compared with nearly 70% of Baby Boomers voting in the last election).

Digital Natives, named for being the first generation to go from cradle to grave with smart phones, computers and the Internet, will not be bigger than the Millennial generation, but they may be more vocal. They are already more vocal than Gen X has ever been.

The last generation to be this vocal as they came of age: Baby boomers. The 2 Guyz are not always vocal but we surely are observant of change.

What will this mean for consumer behavior and purchase habits? The 2 Guyz don’t know yet, but we will definitely be watching!

In Super Bowl LII TV viewers saw Doritos chips and Avocados From Mexico as two of the advertisers. Makes sense since most football parties have both.

Each advertiser paid $5+ million per spot to advertise in the Super Bowl. And those spots are designed to make watering mouths in the 103 million estimated viewers of this year’s game. As media planners, we would calculate that to be a CPM of about $45. In our classes we teach that that means Doritos and Avocados From Mexico paid about $45 to reach every 1000 viewers.

CNBC has reported that Avocados From Mexico was one of the most talked spots after the Superbowl on social media. Time will tell if that translates into more avocado sales.

What about Doritios? They had the 4th highest rated ad, according to USA Today Ad Meter.

Just how big is Doritos? How much sales do Doritos represent to parent company PepsiCo? Doritos was the top ranked tostada chip brand of the United States with about $1.48 billion, in 2017. That’s a lot of chips.

So here’s an interesting take on some PR announced by PepsiCo. It’s about chips.

This week PepsiCo with its snacks Doritos, Cheetos and Lays chips may be announcing snacks aimed at women. An important characteristic under demographics.

Their research says that women prefer chips that “don’t make too much noise” when eaten or don’t leave their fingers sticky. Is that really an important differential?

As we are writing this post, Doritos chips are making a lot of noise…on the Internet! Seems social media is NOT in support, and think it’s in bad taste…figuratively, that is. The New York Times is watching this closely.

It does bring up the topic of segmentation, though. The 2 Guyz On Marketing teach and present five ways to segment a market. Segmentation is the breaking a market of varied potential purchasers into subgroups of specific purchasers with similar needs, desired product benefits and purchase behaviors. We teach demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavior characteristics and technographics.

Segmentation:

Breaking a market of varied potential purchasers into subgroups of specific purchasers with similar needs, desired product benefits and purchase behaviors.

Demographic Segmentation:

Age, sex, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, nationality, social class (is also sometimes put under psychographics.)

Geographic Segmentation:

By region, city, metro size, density, climate; plus by countries and territories.

Psychological Segmentation:

Social class–Lower lowers to Upper uppers. Social class is also under demographics.

Lifestyle— achievers, strivers, and strugglers

Personality— Compulsive, gregarious, authoritarian, and ambitious

Lifestyles/Attitudes/Interests and Opinions

Behavioral Segmentation:

Occasions (regular occasions, special occasions, holidays, vacations). Orange juice for breakfast, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day.

Benefits (quality, service, economy, convenience, speed—Quality, Time, Money)

User status (nonuser, ex-user, potential user, first-time user, regular user)

Usage rate (light, medium, heavy user)

Loyalty status (none, medium, strong, absolute)

Readiness attitude toward product (aware, interest, desire, intending to buy),

Attitude toward product (enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative, hostile[1]).

Technographical Segmentation

Another way to segment has been added to marketing’s segmentation, targeting and positioning. It is called “Technographics.” In our research, we have studied what technologies different segments or groups of people use and how they use them. What are your “people” using?

We’ll see what they will be launching in the near future, obviously after huge sales of chips for those parties last weekend.

Yes, the Super Bowl LII is next Sunday…

As college instructors and bloggers, we want to help! The 2 Guyz want you to look smart while you are watching the Super Bowl with friends.

These are some great questions and answers to look as smooth as you can be while watching the Super Bowl TV spots on February 4th on NBC.

• “Really, advertising is not an art form. It’s an expensive, business tool.”
• “Is that spot or ad believable?”
• “Was that clear? Or “Was that a clear execution of their strategy to sell product or services?”
• “Did that give any information to us, the audience? Or say “the intended target audience?”
• “Does that TV spot (better to say spot than an ad) deliver the intended message?”
• To me, meaning you the reader of this blog or viewer, “Is the advertiser trying to shock us?  Are they really selling any product?”
• “Looks like they are generating some awareness of their brand, but are they selling any product?”
• “I wonder who their competition is?”
• “Creative advertising is really advertising that creates sales.”
• “Advertising is only one of eight tools under “Promotion” with the 9P’s of Marketing.” Remember the advertising could have put $5 Million dollars for each spot into more sales people. Better customer service. Could have dropped prices? More store events.
• To whom should they be targeting and promoting? The Super Bowl is more men than women (55% men to 45% women), but it’s a huge audience. What percentage of the audience would be interested in buying that product? Under “People/”Targeting, target market, audience with media falls here.
• Every ad contains two things:
  • What you want to say
  • How you want to say it.
• Another great question is, “What are they really trying to say (or sell)?”
• And finally, from the business point of view when you see a bad spot, “What’s the opportunity cost of that? Probably could have found a more effective way to spend $5.5.”

Enjoy the game…and the spots!

As a quick example, Domino’s differentiated itself and its pizza from all of the pizza companies by first promising to deliver in under 30-minutes.

In sophisticated Marketing there are more than the four P’s of Marketing. The 2 Guyz on Marketing teach and consult that “Product” and Services are vitally important to the success of a firm’s overall marketing efforts, objectives, strategies and tactics. The element “Product” is under both the 4P’s and 9P’s of Marketing.

Product is the goods and service combination the firm offers to the target market, including variety of product mix, features, branding, designs, packaging, sizes, services, maintenance contracts, warranties and return policies. “Product” may include packaging, as a subset of the total offering. Brand managers use packaging as a badge, enhancing the product’s value. In 2008, McDonald’s scrapped and changed its package design across 118 countries, 56 languages. Packaging can increase the perceptions about the quality of the product.

The 2 Guyz On Marketing use the nine P’s of Marketing which contain several valuable concepts, elements, terms and useful definitions to help explain, find problems and aid in the understanding of Marketing and related activities, including Marketing objectives, strategies and tactics.

Can your customers, clients or users tell the difference between your product and services versus your competition?

Let’s look more closely at “Product,” one of the nine elements or components:

• A product (service) is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. (Kotler)
  • Look at branding; brand equity; brand name; quality; unique selling proposition (USP or U.S.P.) and unique value proposition (USP); newness; complexity; physical appearance; packaging; labeling; ingredients; maintenance and service contracts; and others.
  • A product line is a group of products that are closely related because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed or sold through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges. The major product line decision involves product line length (the number of items in the product line. A company’s product mix has four important dimensions: width (number of different product lines), length (number of items a company carries within the product lines), depth (number of versions offered for each product in the line), and consistency (how closely related the various product lines are in end use, production requirements, distribution channels, or in any other way).
• A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. (Kotler)

Have you ever thought how you asked a question to a consumer who has purchased your product? The right words, questions and/or phrasing can make a big difference, especially for new products. The question should be about getting valuable product feedback.

Much more strategic thinking from the 2 Guyz On Marketing.

• A Product or service also should have Purpose, which is discovering the product’s real value, use, difference, reason, or function for the consumer and user. In comparing the quality of a service consumers can relate it to their expectations and the experience with other services.
• Some examples:
  • Target’s using 3D modeling: They can take an idea from a sketch to a prototype in a matter of days. After receiving a sketch from the designer or engineer, they can create a detailed CAD model of the product then feed it into one of their 3D printers. What results is a physical representation of what the designer envisioned. Target claimed at the time that they were the only retailer with rapid-prototyping capabilities.
  • Under entertainment, gaming, broadcast, media and related to advertising and “product,” we can watch what we want to watch when we want to watch it anywhere, any screen.

Your success may be dependent on a great product but there is so much more, with great targeting or your “People” in the marketplace, at the right partnerships and strategic alliances.

For more Marketing insights, ideas, concepts and Marketing solutions: Go to Londremarketing.com and look under “Articles and Resources” and the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007. Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s or Nine P’s/9P’s of Marketing.

*Created by Larry Steven Londre. Copyright 2007.

“People,” one of the nine elements or components of marketing, is another addition to E. Jerome McCarthy’s original 4 P’s of the Marketing Mix. Let’s look at it more closely.

• People
  • “People” or targeting has almost always been left out of the traditional “Marketing Mix.” Almost every diagram includes the four P’s with Product, Promotion, Place and Price.
  • As a marketing professional or new to the game of marketing, look at new, existing and repeat customers.
  • Assign “consumer, “People” or “potential buyers” in the middle of a circle. Add the other components in the nine P’s. In Marketing, from my education, training, research and analysis plus testimony, there needs to be greater focus on the “Customer” or “People.”
  • “People” or market segments may utilize demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavioral characteristics and technographics, which may be a vital component or components of the 9P’s of Marketing.
  • Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market segment.

• • Defining a target market requires market segmentation; the process of segmenting the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable units based on:

• Demographics
• Geographics
• Psychographics
• Behavior
• Technographics or technographical characteristics. Understand your potential consumer. Remember, in the back of your mind, that the reason technology is phenomenal is because it displaces years, or centuries, of previous technology. Consumers may or may not have the skills. Think employees here too. The reason technology skills are transitory is because they will almost certainly be displaced, too.

• • Simply it’s about Segmentation and Targeting. Add Positioning and you have STP, as a major first step.

A couple of examples:

• • • A unique example of targeting and reading the data. PayPal looks at segmentation and was finding a segment of their customers who were buying women’s products, men’s products, electronics, haircare product for both sexes plus dresses and tuxedoes. It was a multitude of both men’s and women’s products. From research and planning, they found out that their customers (couples/partners/husbands and wives) were using one ID and password. It was two sexes, one log in.
    • A segment of car buyers when they think of Jeep they think of running wild and free off road and driving on sand dunes. Jeep has targeted behavior and psychological needs of their target segment of Jeep buyers.
    • Facebook shows content to different users based on their preferences and demographics.
    • In early 2017, Snapchat is mostly millennials, really young people and high school and teens.

The 2 Guyz on Marketing say, “Be sure to look at competing FOR the customer more than AGAINST your competition.” The more you discover, learn, know, and understand about the people who are buying (or would potentially buy) your product, the more successful in marketing you will be!

For more Marketing insights, ideas, concepts and Marketing solutions: Go to Londremarketing.com and look under “Articles and Resources” and the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007. Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s or Nine P’s/9P’s of Marketing.

*Created by Larry Steven Londre. Copyright 2007.

My 2 Guyz on Marketing” partner Brian Hemsworth and I were asking each other “What is the most important first step if you have a new product idea?”

I said “who is going to buy it?” Brian agreed but added, “How good is the idea?”

As one of Londre’s nine P’s of Marketing, it’s named “People,” for prospects, potential purchasers or “target market.”

Whether it’s a new idea or products you are selling in the marketplace today, if you are a marketing professional, business owner, brand manager, client or marketing manager, start by connecting the dots about your potential consumers and actual consumers.

Marketing research has come to the forefront, as organizations are tapping into customer data and consumer insights not only to better connect with their “People,” target markets/audiences, but also to develop the “right,” winning business strategies.

In the classroom or with clients, the Marketing Guyz use the terms “target market,” as a particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed. A product focusing on a specific target market contrasts sharply with one following the marketing strategy of mass marketing.

In our analysis and thinking, a “target audience” would be a media term; target market is a marketing term.

Defining a target market requires market segmentation; the process of segmenting the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable units based on:

• Demographics
• Geographics
• Psychographics
• Behavior
• Technographics or technographical characteristics. Understand your potential consumer. Remember, in the back of your mind, that the reason technology is phenomenal is because it displaces years, or centuries, of previous technology. Consumers may or may not have the skills. Think employees here too. The reason technology skills are transitory is because they will almost certainly be displaced, too.

Segmentation is truly an important Marketing concept. In fact, it’s mission critical.

The market segmentation process includes:

• Targeting these segments in the market based on those characteristics.
• Checking to see whether any of these market segments are large enough to support the organization’s product.
• The concept on segments. They need to be: Measurable; Substantial; Accessible; Differential/Different; Actionable
• Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market.

Here’s a unique example of targeting and reading the data you may have on potential purchasers.

PayPal looked at segmentation and was finding a special segment of their customers who were buying women’s products, men’s products, electronics, haircare products for both sexes, plus dresses, and tuxedoes. It was a multitude of both men’s and women’s products. From research and planning, they found out that their customers (couples/partners/husbands and wives) were using one ID and password. It was two sexes or both sexes, which logged on.

One more example: The 2 Guyz on Marketing like using the letters “KYP,”which refers to “Know Your People.”

We understand, teach and use this concept of “people” two different ways. Two sides of the same coin. Know who your target is and segment the potential buyers, using the different segmentation analysis. But also know your employees. Know their skills and understanding of the company’s marketing objectives, strategies and tactics.

Bottom line: how do the front line employees or the entire company communicate, interact and relate to your “People” or target market—The “people” buying and using your product.? This is a critical first step that cannon be skipped.

So we’re going back and forth about whether or not the word “marketing” should be capitalized or not in our blog posts.

Larry said yes. I said no.

Larry likes it that way. Brian lives by the AP Stylebook, and it would say “no”.

Webster’s tells us it’s a noun, “The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.”

Larry uses a definition of, where the first letter of the first word is capitalized: Marketing is getting the right product or service to the right people (target market), at the right time, at the right place, at the right price, with the right partners, plus right communication, promotion, passion and presentation.

Yet “to market” is a verb. Dictionary.com defines it as, “to carry or send to market for disposal.”

But does capitalizing it make it more important? Or maybe the better question is, should it?

This blog doesn’t devote tons of space to history, but a little is worthwhile.

Marketing really emerged as a term (and recognized practice) a while back as the promoting, pricing, partnering and distributing and “placing” a product. These became the classic “4 Ps” of the marketing mix.

The original meaning of the term “marketing” or “to market” is to sell and to buy. Sellers sell and potential consumers may purchase. Think of your local Farmer’s markets. That’s true marketing. To buy or to sell in a market, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, may go back to 1561.

The more modern definition goes to pricing, promoting, developing and placing product and services in the marketplace. In Harper’s magazine in 1884 you would find: “The marketing of supplies (product and services) was the beginning … of its prosperity.”

As cavemen evolved, and our hunting societies became agrarian, supply of goods and services began to surpass demand, and society moved to centralized markets. The need to “market” became more necessary, and more urgent to the sellers. We put up signs, shouted out our prices, and did whatever it took to sell our goods and services.

During the last century we saw the rise of the advertising agency giants, with names like Burnett, Bernbach, Ogilvy, and Thompson, command the respect of corporate America. They ushered in an era that demanded marketing objectives, strategies and tactics in modern businesses. The grew first out of the “scientific” era of advertising, then the “creative era”.

By the 1960s and early 1970s, as the “Mad Men” era waned and these names began to recede, marketing efforts began to shift from the agency side to client side, and marketing departments sprang up in corporate American.

Today marketing isn’t just an add-on business. It’s the lifeblood of business. It’s the ammunition of strategy. It’s competitive warfare. It is “what we do” to bring to market and sell products and services.

So, with a little argument, but ultimately agreement, the 2 Guyz On Marketing have placed our flag in the ground. When we speak of “marketing,” the process of everything that happens to get products from producer to consumer or user, the very lifeblood of business, we will capitalize the “M”.

We declare that Marketing is no longer the bastard stepchild of business, strategy, or advertising. It is the master of its own domain. It is the ruler of its own roost.

Long live Marketing.

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Marketing is about action and making things happen. It’s about looking at and establishing objectives, strategies and tactics. It’s not about hope, or the feeling of expectation and the desire for a certain thing to happen, as in hoping to increase sales versus a major competitor. Think action verb.

Most people leap to marketing tactics, the “stuff” marketing does, such as advertising, PR and events. But marketing is nothing without strategy. In fact at Brian’s firm, they live by the mantra, “Strategy always comes before tactics.”

Marketing is about little details and big details. The little details can make big things happen.

So how do people define marketing? Let’s take a look some definitions, starting with visionary Peter Drucker.

Marketing is the process by which companies engage customers, build strong customer relationships, and create customer value in order to capture value from customers in return. (Principles of Marketing, 17e, Kotler and Armstrong, 2018). This definition has emerged out of the current “customer” focus movement. What is easily missed is that marketing is a process, not a thing.

Marketing is 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. (Definition approved by the American Marketing Association, Board of Directors, July 2013.[1] This definition features the term “value” which has been used and abused a lot in recent years. Note the word “institutions”. Makes this definition feel a bit old and stodgy, though it is still moving in the right direction.

Marketing Management is the art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them. (Principles of Marketing, 17e, Kotler and Armstrong, 2018). While the 2 Marketing Guyz believe marketing management is much more than targeting customers and building relationships, the concept of targeting is one of the most important functions that happens in marketing.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him (her/it) and sells itself. (Peter F. Drucker). Another Drucker quote. Drucker simplifies things in this definition, which is good. We hate verbose, stuffy definitions. But the key point in this one is that it ties understanding the customer to delivery the to them the right product. Critical to successful marketing.

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy the perceived needs, wants, and objectives of individuals and organizations. (Contemporary Advertising, 14e, Arens, Weigold, Arens, 2013). This definition leverages the classic “4 P’s” of marketing and kind of shoehorns them into a definition. It works, but it feels a bit like the sociology department was included in it’s formation. If we had classes in Macro Marketing and Micro Marketing, this would be in the Macro course.

Marketing is the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization’s objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client. (Basic Marketing, A Marketing Planning Approach, 19 Edition, Perreault, Cannon and McCarthy, 2014). While marketing includes these actions, this one seems to skip over the research, development, analysis, and strategy that comes first.

The purpose of Marketing is to sell more stuff to more people more often for more money in order to make more profit. (Sergio Zyman). Serio is a marketing voice, and the man credited with the introduction of New Coke (a great case study we will blog on at a future time.) And while some would argue this is overly simplistic, it captures the vibe of real marketing better than others. When we are working in the marketing trenches, this is what we do.

The Mantra of Marketing: Marketing’s job is to create, communicate and deliver value to a target market at a profit. Market Management needs to “Create Value,” “Communicate Value,” and “Deliver Value.” (Kotler at London Business Forum). Classic use (and maybe overuse) of the term value. To better understand it, simply insert the words “stuff customers want” wherever you see the word “value.”

Marketing Mix: The set of tactical marketing tool — product, price, place and promotion — that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. (Principles of Marketing, 17e, Kotler and Armstrong, 2018). This is marketing as was defined 30-40 years ago, when it was emerging as a bona fide business process and concept. The 4 P’s. Back then you memorized it, and you got an A on the test.

The Marketing Concept is a philosophy. It makes the customer, and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the focal point of all business activities. It is driven by senior managers who are passionate about delighting their customers. Marketing is not only much broader than selling; it is not a specialized activity at all. It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise. (Peter F. Drucker). Wow. A lot said there. Drucker is good, and this one is worth reading again. And again.

Marketing is getting the right product or service to the right people (target market), at the right time, at the right place, at the right price, with the right partners, using right communication, promotion, passion and presentation. This is Larry’s definition. He uses this a lot, and it’s a pretty darn good definition. It cuts through the crap, describes the goals, the strategies, and the actions. We like it.

Marketing is everything that happens between the customer and the brand. This one is Brian’s. H uses this one a lot. It’s simple, but it is inclusive.

If you are a student of marketing, and we’re all students of marketing, this discussion and these definitions should give you an idea of what marketing is. But marketing is a living, breathing process. It changes from one moment to the next, but it is the lifeblood of a successful business.

We once had a student say, “It sounds like pornography, hard to define accurately, but easy to spot when you see it.”

Okay.

[1] American Marketing Association, “About AMA: Definition of Marketing,” https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx (cited May 28, 2014)