Nowadays, the term “Marketing” is a familiar one, since we have heard it when talking about the promotion of a product in the media, even when referring to politicians who focus on developing an image, and, evidently, in organizations or companies that have a Marketing area.

However, except for those of us in this profession, the term “Marketing” may not be so clear about all that it encompasses. Because if we refer to advertising or promotion we say that it is Marketing, and nowadays, if we talk about social networks we also refer to Marketing.

So, what is Marketing? One way to define it is as all those actions performed by organizations or companies to create, communicate and deliver a value offer to current and potential consumers regarding a product or service. It could be considered somewhat general, however, and although it may not be perceived, when designing and delivering communication regarding an organization and the products or services it offers, marketing is being done.

And what actions are considered Marketing? We can take as a basis the 4 P’s of Marketing: Place, Product, Price and Promotion.

Product. As its name indicates, it is a product or service that is created to satisfy a consumer’s need.

Price. The price at which the product will be marketed in the market.

Promotion. These are all those actions through which the product is made known in the market.

Place (from the English translation of “place”) refers to the distribution of the product, i.e. putting the product in the hands of the consumer.

Over the years, more theories emerged about 7 P’s and 8 P’s, which include: People, Processes, Productivity and Positioning. One way of conceiving these additional P’s is that Positioning and Productivity are the result of good management of the 4 P’s, and People and Processes are inherent to marketing, since without them it could not exist.

Therefore, taking up the question, the actions that result from the combination of these 4 P’s are considered Marketing. It can be a very broad concept, since many of the actions carried out by an organization or company could be considered Marketing and, generally, they are.

Many times we do marketing without being aware of it, simply by recommending a product, or in the case of local businesses, by promoting a product or offering a special price to attract more customers.

These same efforts, taken “online” are also marketing, giving rise to what we know as “Digital Marketing”.

So, why is Marketing important? as mentioned in a previous article, because the essence of Marketing is not to sell any product or service, with a simple sales approach, it goes much further. The purpose of the marketing area, or to carry out marketing actions, must be to generate a connection with consumers, not only to get them to buy the product or service once, but to actually meet and exceed their expectations, thus positioning the brand positively in the consumer’s mind. In this way, we guarantee not only a one-time purchase, but also subsequent purchases. Consequently, this should generate higher sales in a profitable manner.

All of the above is achieved by defining a target market, knowing and understanding it, so that the product or service offer will be in line with its expectations and needs.