What is Marketing? | A Deep Dive

We talk about marketing all the time and how important it is for a business, but have you ever really stopped to think, “What is marketing”? Being as we are an advertising company, we wanted to take this time to really get down to the nitty gritty of what marketing is and its purpose. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about marketing, keep reading, we promise it will be entertaining.

What is Marketing?

Below are some of the ways other sources describe it.

  • “The act of buying or selling in a market. The total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling” (Dictionary.com).
  • “The act or process of selling or purchasing in a market. The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service” (Merriam-Webster).
  • “The business activity that involves finding out what customers want, using that information to design products and services, and selling them effectively” (Cambridge Dictionary).
  • “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” (American Marketing Association).
  • “The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising” (Oxford Languages).

Okay, okay. We know you get the point. While these definitions seem pretty direct, they don’t really embody what marketing is. Nowadays, marketing seems more like an art than the formal definitions portrayed above. With social media, banner ads, out-of-home, online video, etc., marketing is filled with endless possibilities, all with the same goal in mind; to attract your ideal audience and create and strengthen brand loyalty and sales.

Marketing truly involves all the actions a company undertakes to draw in customers and maintain relationships with them. It’s not just about having a catchy advertisement that gets someone to buy from you once, it’s about keeping them coming back for more. It involves everything from artwork down to the research of your customers and competitors.

What is the Purpose of Marketing?

We feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. Marketing ultimately means sales, and sales should mean profit and revenue. With the right marketing, it should lead to repeat sales at a much lower cost than the initial sale.

Marketing is not only for the business, it is for customers as well. It seeks to match a company’s products and services to customers who want access to those products and services and have a need for them. Customers appreciate companies who utilize marketing properly and target them when they are in search of their products and services and on a buyer’s journey. When a person is looking for something to solve a problem or to provide a solution, they want to find an answer to/for that question as quickly and effectively as possible.

What Type of Marketing is Best for Your Business?

Like all things, marketing is not a one size fits all. Depending on who you are trying to reach, where you are trying to reach them, your budget, their budget, current events and trends, and much more, one method or a mix of many could be right for you. Regardless of how you chose to market to your ideal audience, the important thing is, that you do.

Water Bear Marketing offers a wide variety of marketing and advertising solutions to help your business get more business. Each item in the AdPantry comes with a dedicated team of highly skilled waterbears, who are based in the USA, easily accessible, and focused on your success. You also get 24/7 access to our reporting dashboard, for maximum transparency, in which you are able to track results through phone calls, emails, online sales, and form submissions. Our proprietary technology helps us proactively make adjustments to help you get the best results we can deliver.

Trust us with all of your marketing needs and contact us for a free consultation today.

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