Question 1: Define the term “marketing” and discuss how it is more than just “telling and sellingâ€.
Marketing is the process through which profitable relationships with customers are created and maintained. Marketing is not just about telling and selling; rather it involves efforts to attract new customers as well. At the same time, it is concerned with efforts to ensure that the current customers are satisfied at all times. Therefore, marketing enables businesses create value for their customer as well as to establish strong relationships with these customers in order to gain value from them in return.
The traditional concept of “telling and selling†fails to capture the true meaning of marketing. It fails to capture the importance of satisfying the needs of customers. Marketers who fail to understand the needs of customers are highly likely to lose them to competitors. Moreover, it fails to capture the important contribution of marketing in the process of developing products and services that offer value to customers. Furthermore, marketing also influences the process of setting prices, distributing products, and promoting them in the market.
It is sometimes assumed that marketing entails only advertising and selling. The marketing mix comprises of other components such as place, product, and price. These components make the marketing process a very…