What is Marketing?

In today’s business world, marketing has been a mandatory function to ensure substantial
profits. In other words, a firm must fully craft the most appropriate marketing strategies for the
sake of the business continuity. Unfortunately, the comprehensive definition of marketing has
blurred due to its trite use in language. Without thorough understanding of what marketing really
is, a company could miss out the components necessary to compose effective strategies. Hence,
this essay seeks to compile understandings from common people as well as from authoritative
sources to create a complete picture of what marketing encompasses.

The first respondent interviewed regarding the posed issue was Yohanes Tanuwijaya
(Yoyo), an international student in Monash University. The major that he studies is early
education, that is teaching 2-to-10-year-old children. He is currently 19, single, on his second
year at the university. Despite being born in Indonesia, he now lives in Victoria state, Australia,
for the sake of continuing his study. His goal in three years is to graduate with flying colors and
find his ideal first job as a teacher in his home country. When asked about the field of business,

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he said that it was important overall; nevertheless, it did not suit him. He even highlighted that
the sphere too hard for him to pursue any career opportunities there. Thereafter, when asked
about marketing, he explained it as “a kind of system, cash going in and out, or what people want
and the market will produce the product as what the customer wants”. The excerpt of Yoyo’s
profile could be found as above.

Bob White
Age : 21
Residence : Victoria
Education : Undergraduate (in process) – Art major
Occupation : Student
Marital status : Single
Marketing is “a kind of platform to exchange produce which I want
and to exchange them with the same value of product or money”
The second respondent was Bob White, another student, this time from RMIT university.
He pursues a major in art and loves designing clothes. Bob is on his last year in the university, 21
years old, and single. He is an Australian resident, but his parents emigrated from Ireland; the
family has been living in Victoria for 30 years. His goal in three years is to have enough funds to
have his own clothing company. That is why he said immediately that he was interested in
business, as the knowledge in this field would help him accumulate money for his own startup.
For him, marketing is “a kind of platform to exchange produce which I want and to exchange
them with the same value of product or money. People could get the thing that they want”. To
clearly describe what he means, White brought an example of shopping a carton of milk in a

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supermarket. For him, marketing is when the person buys the product and exchanges it with its
price. White’s profile is provided above.

Jane Turner
Age : Late twenties
Residence : Victoria
Education : Undergraduate in business
Occupation : Finance supervisor
Marital status : Single
Marketing is “for exchange of goods, control the flow of economic and

money”

The last respondent was Jane Turner, a finance supervisor in a pharmaceutical company.
She has been working in the firm for 4 years in total and as a supervisor for 1 year. Jane is now
in her late twenties and her educational background is business. Her goal in three years is to be a
finance manager in a multinational company. According to her, marketing is “for exchange of
goods, control the flow of economic and money”. She elaborated on the former by saying that
marketing is a method to get the needs, wants, and demands of customers. For her, needs are
refer to people’s basic necessities in life, such as water and food. Meanwhile, wants are what
customers prefer; for instance, they are what individuals want to eat. Lastly, demands are
expensive items that people buy. Regarding the control of the flow of economic and money, she
uttered that “marketing inflection is a way” to do so. The summary of Turner’s profile could be
seen above.

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The first authoritative source that was used to define the term is the American Marketing
Association (AMA). As the community for marketers, its critical milestone happened when the
president of the association, Neil Borden, brought up marketing mix in 1953 (“About AMA”).
Currently, AMA leaders focus on marketing excellence in which they would find innovative
ways to further the specific field. Its content originates from outstanding scholarly journals such
as The Journal of Marketing and “award-winning publications, like Marketing News” (“About
AMA”). In short, the association provides a platform for marketers and academics to connect
with each other as well as to access the materials required for their success. According to AMA,
marketing is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,
delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society
at large” (“Definitions of Marketing”). As seen, the given definition is broader in scope than the
ones provided common people.
Another acknowledged source studied is Philip Kotler, “the father” of modern marketing.
He wrote 57 books about this subject and won many awards for his monumental breakthrough in
the field (“About Phil Kotler”). He defines marketing in three ways, which are “the process by
which an organization relates creatively, productively, and profitably to the marketplace, the art
of creating and satisfying customers at a profit, and getting the right goods and services to the
right people at the right places at the right time at the right price with the right communications
and promotion” (Kotler 31). In these comprehensive definitions, the key words noted are
delivering the goods to satisfy customers.
Based on the definitions above, the common people have captured some dimensions of
marketing quite well by saying that it is an exchange of goods and the way to find what
customers want. However, the formal definitions describe it more thoroughly by adding the

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creation and communication function that must be done in the right way. In short, marketing is
the correct way of crafting, promoting, delivering, and exchanging offerings to satisfy customers.

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Reference:
“About AMA”. American Marketing Association, https://www.ama.org/about-ama/. Accessed 23
Aug 2019.
“About Phil Kotler”. Philip Kotler – The Father of Modern Marketing,
http://www.philkotler.com/bio/. Accessed 23 Aug 2019.
“Definitions of Marketing”. American Marketing Association, https://www.ama.org/the-
definition-of-marketing/. Accessed 23 Aug 2019.
Kotler, P. Marketing management: Analysis, planning, implementation, and control, 7 th ed.
Prentice Hall, 1991.
Tanuwijaya, Yohanes. Personal Interview. 6 August 2019.
Turner, Jane. Personal Interview. 7 August 2019.
White, Bob. Personal Interview. 6 August 2019.