The Nature of Marketing

John McCann
Last update: March 7, 1995

Marketing can be examined from many perspectives, and this page presents severals of those perspectives. I will be adding others over time, and would like to learn of ones that you use in your work and teaching. Please send your ideas via email.

My definition of marketing

Marketing is the process of understanding and influencing markets.

Marketing as a process

Marketing is a process that marketing managers execute. In a number of instances, a marketing manager does not manage people, but manages the marketing process. A product manager is an example of such a marketing manager; s/he manages the marketing process for a product within a larger marketing organization. We, as consumers, see the results of that process in the form of products, stores, shopping malls, advertisements, sales pitches, promotions, prices, etc. This process usually involves four phases.

Analysis
Markets must be understood, and this understanding flows from analysis. Marketing managers spend weeks analyzing their markets before they undertake the development of marketing plans for influencing those markets.
Planning
Once a market is understood, marketing programs and events must be designed for influencing the market's customers and consumers, and even the firm's competitors.
Execution
The marketing events are executed in the markets: advertisements are run, prices are set, sales calls are made, etc.
Monitoring
Markets are not static entities and thus must be monitored at all times. After events execute, they need to be evaluated. The planning assumptions upon which the upcoming events are based must be continually tested; they they are not longer true then the events may need modification.

The D Roles of a marketing manager

Marketing managers play many roles, and we can describe them with words that begin with the letter D:

Detective
The marketer is charged with understanding markets, and thus must spend considerable time learning about consumers, competitors, customers, and conditions in the markets. This learning takes many forms: formal marketing research studies, analysis of market data, market visits, and discussions with people in the markets. The result of these studies include insights about market conditions, and the identification of problems and opportunities in the various markets.
Designer
Once a problem or opportunity has been identified, the marketer turns her/his attention to designing marketing programs that solve the problems and/or capture the opportunities.
Decision maker
Marketing is a group process that involves many different people, each of whom may be designing marketing programs and events. Thus the marketer must make decisions about which programs to execute.
Decision Influencer
Marketers exist in corporate structures that require higher level executives to approve the marketing plans, programs, and events that come out of the marketing group's work. Thus the marketer must influence the decisions of these senior executives.
Diplomat
Marketers design marketing events that others must execute: the sales force must execute the sales plan, the advertising agency must execute the advertisements, etc. These units do not usually "report to" the marketing managers, and they are undertaking tasks given to them by multiple marketing managers. Thus, each manager must plays a diplomatic role while inducing these units to execute his/her progam in a timely and high quality way.
Discussant
All of these roles require considerable discussion among many parties within and outside the company. Thus the marketing manager spends most of his/her time in discussions with others.

Managing the Marketing Mix

Marketing managers can control or influence four aspects of the firm's output: its products, promotions, prices, and the places that all of these are offered.

Product
Product managment involves the design of the physical product along with its packaging and warranties, the positioning of that product in terms of the benefits it delivers, and the development of the product's brand identify.
Promotion
It is generally not true that consumers will beat a path to your door if you have a superior product; they must be told about it and induced to buy it ... thus the need for promotion. Promotion includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotions, and public relations.
Price
Pricing strategies and tactics must be determined for the product, and then followed to set prices for all the sizes and variants of the product. The result is usually a price schedule that includes the regular price, volume discounts, payment terms, seasonal prices, introductory prices, etc.
Place
Marketing managers are involved in decisions about where the product is offered to the consumer in terms of the channels of distribution.

Operating within constraints

Marketing managers must undertake all of the above activities within various constraints, all of which start with the letter C. None of these constraints are under the direct control of the marketing managers; some can be influenced; all can be understood.

Competition
Other companies are competiting for the same consumers and channels of distribution.
Channels
Retail stores, electronic markets, communications media exist to serve the marketer. In the short run, they must be accepted as constraints; in the long run, the marketer can exert some control over them ... even vertically integrate into the channels.
Consumers
Consumers have needs and wants. The marketers must understand those needs before they can design marketing programs aimed at impacting consumer wants.
Conditions
Markets are not static but in constant evolution under the influences of the economy, changing tastes and fashions, population dynamics, etc.
Company
Company policies, procedures, practices, and cultures place constraints upon the marketing resources and programs that the marketer can deploy.

Marketing is Collaboration

The nature of marketing requires marketing managers and professionals to work together on all aspects of marketing. It is common for the marketing manager to be at the center of a set of activities being worked on by people within the company (sales force, promotion manager, product development teams, etc.) and outside the company (ad agencies, consultants, marketing reseach firms, etc). Thus marketing managers must spend considerable time in consultation and collaboration with other people.