MARKETING DEFINITIONS Google defines marketing as, ‘the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising’. In addition to being sloppy, this definition suggests that marketing is all about ‘selling’ or ‘promotion’ when it need not necessarily involve either. Certainly, marketing does not need to involve either ‘market research’ […]

MARKETING DEFINITIONS Google defines marketing as, ‘the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising’. In addition to being sloppy, this definition suggests that marketing is all about ‘selling’ or ‘promotion’ when it need not necessarily involve either. Certainly, marketing does not need to involve either ‘market research’ or ‘advertising’. Zara, one of the world’s largest retailers has no advertising budget and does very little promotion, and many businesses in Australia complete little, if any, market research. On a more pedantic level, I would argue that a ‘service’ is a ‘product’. A ‘product’ can be either a ‘good’ or a ‘service’. Mary Ellen Bianco – Director Marketing & Communications, Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC defines marketing as follows: ‘Marketing includes research, targeting, communications (advertising and direct mail) and often public relations.  Marketing is to sales as ploughing is to planting for a farmer—it prepares an…