What Marketing Actually Is (and Where It Came From)
The foundation of interest, and how it has evolved over time
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Marketing is the intentional process of moving people through their decision journey by aligning what they need with what a business can uniquely provide, not simply advertising, branding, or persuasion. It has evolved through distinct eras: the production and product concepts of the early 1900s, the sales concept of the 1950s, the customer-first marketing concept of the 1990s, and today's societal marketing approach. Together, these shifts show a steady move toward deeper understanding of the people businesses serve.
Have you ever struggled to explain what marketing actually is, beyond ads and slogans? You need a solid framework if you want to grow your business. Once we agree on what marketing means and how to view it at a fundamental level, we have a solid framework to expand into more advanced principles in future articles.
Marketing is more than the misconceptions that surround it, and it has changed dramatically since the first market stalls of 3000 BCE, moving through eras of production, sales, and customer-first thinking on the way to today’s societal marketing approach.
What Is Marketing?
Marketing is the process of moving a target audience through the shopping journey.
Marketing is a process, which means it is an ongoing effort. It acknowledges that people go through a journey when making purchase decisions. And all this is for a target audience, which is a grouping of people with common needs.
In contrast, here’s what marketing is not…