What is marketing? Marketing is a complex concept. Anglicism. (Marketing)
A simple definition of “what is marketing” and the main detailed approaches…
What is marketing?
What is marketing? Definition of marketing – From the root “Market” in English. Marketing involves strategies which, once implemented, enable the design & promotion of product/service based on an analysis of consumer needs & specific market.
Traditional marketing appears at every stage of the marketing funnel :
- 🎯 Upstream, to define the sales offer, the target(s) and by what means of communication, reach your buyer persona.
- 📢 During the sales process, by setting up marketing campaign: advertising, events, emailings.
- 📶 Downstream, to analyze the results of a marketing campaign and take new strategic measures.
Marketing is essential to a company’s strategy : to launch, boost and sustain its business over time. So it’s important to choose the right approach!
What are the different approaches to marketing?
To really understand what is marketing… First, you have to know what is the definition of “marketing approach”? 🤔
An “approach” is a way of accessing the prospect in order to convey a message. The aim is to arouse the consumer’s interest in order to trigger a desire to buy.
They therefore designate the manner and set of actions a company chooses to contact, attract and promote its products or services. 📣
They will not be the same depending on its strategy and objectives, and will therefore change over time (can be used simultaneously).
What is marketing? +21 different types of marketing explained
👇🏼 To help you understand what is marketing, here’s a table summarizing the main marketing approach (with their definitions, examples of channels, tools and associated objectives) :
| Types of marketing | “What is marketing” Definitions | “What is marketing” Objectives | Examples (companies, channels, tools) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic marketing (before operational marketing) | Analyze the market using various tools and define long-term strategies to position the company competitively. | Anticipate market trends, identify opportunities and direct actions to achieve sustainable growth. | Tools: SWOT, 5 forces de porter, Pestel, identity prism, BCG matrix, positioning. |
| Operational Marketing (after strategic marketing) | All concrete actions and missions to be carried out (defined during the marketing analysis). | Promote products/services, generate sales and achieve objectives. | Actions: prospecting & emailing campaigns, data scrapping, competitions, promotions. |
| Relationship marketing (as opposed to transactional marketing) | Marketing actions aimed at maintaining lasting relationships with customers. | Accompanying customers on their customer journey to create a privileged experience, purchasing habits, customer satisfaction and loyalty. | Events, series of e-mails, flash offers, participation in the creation of new products, loyalty cards… |
| Transactional marketing (as opposed to relationship marketing) | Marketing operations that encourage the act of buying from a brand-new customer. | Focused on immediate sales and increasing sales volume. | Promotions, discounts, flash sales, suggested purchases, simplified website navigation… |
| Promotional Marketing | Focus on actions to stimulate purchases through temporary offers. | Attract new customers, boost brand awareness and popularity (marketing efforts). | Discounts, contests, free samples… Via social networks, Google Ads, radio, TV, billboards, web banners… |
| Digital marketing | Promote offers online, and reach targets exclusively through digital and internet-related channels. | Improve online visibility to attract and engage audiences, generate conversions and build brand awareness. | Marketing channels: social networks, SEO, SEA, advertising, emailing, newsletters, content marketing, sponsoring… |
| Outbound Marketing | Proactive tactic to attract customer attention via external channels. | Prospect potential customers. | Television, radio, billboards, cold marketing emails. |
| Inbound marketing | Attract customers by offering useful, informative marketing content. | Attract and engage audiences naturally. | Blogs, SEO, ebooks, videos. |
| Social media marketing (or social media marketing) | Using social platforms as a gateway to the purchasing process to promote products and interact with customers. | Engagement and loyalty. Establish relationships with an audience (based on the exchange of ideas, discussion and collaboration) and integrate their customers into a community. | Social networks: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok… Tools: Hootsuite, Buffer. |
| SEM (Search Engine Marketing) | Use paid advertising to increase visibility on search engines. | Increase traffic, ROI and conversions via sponsored ads. | Google Ads, Bing Ads. |
| Mobile marketing (or smartphone) | Targeting users via their mobile devices, imagining new ways of interacting with them. | Reaching users on the move, strengthening the link between brands and consumers by taking advantage of the possibilities offered by mobile technology. | SMS marketing, MMS, geolocation, push notifications, mobile applications, relationship personalization based on user data… |
| Content Marketing | Create and share high-quality, not-for-profit content linked to consumers’ interests in order to hold their attention, stay connected and indirectly serve the company’s interests. | Inform and engage a wide audience. Adopt a variety of approaches to deliver content that meets audience expectations and reinforces a brand’s position. | Text, audio, video, podcasts, newsletters, infographics… |
| Influencer Marketing | Increase brand awareness and promote a product/service through influencers. | Gain credibility and reach specific audiences. Co-create products with celebrities. | Partnerships with influencers, sponsored publications… |
| Affiliate Marketing? | Paying partners to promote products and services. | Generate sales through external partners, get more collaboration from existing users and find new prospects. | Affiliate marketing platforms, tracked links, ambassador programs… |
| Direct marketing | Communicate directly and individually with the customer. | Get an immediate response from your prospects. | SMS, emailing, calls, mail… |
| Social Marketing | Focus on social causes to improve company perception. | Positive image and community involvement. | Social responsibility campaigns. |
| Brand Marketing (or branding) | Develop and reinforce brand perception. | Creating a distinctive brand image. | Logos, slogans, brand awareness advertising. |
| International Marketing | Adapt marketing strategy for different geographic markets. | Extend the brand into foreign markets. | Product adaptation, localization. |
| Experiential Marketing | Creating interactive experiences to engage consumers. | Promote emotional engagement with the brand. | In-store events, pop-up stores. |
| Sensorial Marketing | Using the senses to enrich the shopping experience. | Positive influence on the customer experience. | Music, scents, in-store sensory design. |
| Neuromarketing (neuroscience) | Accurately study the impact of advertising, messages or packaging, as well as their design and structure, on the consumer. | Understand, analyze, predict and influence emotional reactions (conscious and unconscious), choices, preferences, aversions… to improve strategy and messages. | EEG studies, eye-tracking, brand perception, pleasure anticipation, attention and visual recognition… |
| Omnichannel marketing | Integrating multiple marketing channels for a consistent customer experience. | Seamless customer experience. | Online and in-store strategy, multi-platform customer care. |
| Business-to-Customer (B2C or BtoC) marketing ? | Promote directly to customers. | Satisfy and convert prospects into customers. | Clothing store, hair salon, TV… |
| Business-to-Business Marketing (B2B or BtoB) | Target companies and professionals. | Lead generation and business partnerships. | Trade shows, LinkedIn, communications agencies… |
This table should provide you with a practical overview of “what is marketing” and how to grasp the different marketing types in a professional context.🤓
🤷🏻♀️ Of course, there are other various marketing derivatives : green marketing, product marketing, video marketing, print marketing, event marketing, SEO marketing, etc.
We’ve given some quick definitions, but we can give you more information on the difference between strategic and operational marketing.
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Conclusion – What is marketing?
👉🏼 To summarize, marketing is the process of :
- Identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer needs and desires through the creation, promotion, and delivery of valuable products or services.
- Ultimately fostering strong customer relationships and driving business growth.
- Using marketing software that helps to automate marketing and sales.
🏁 And there you have it, you can now answer the question “What is marketing?”, and you can even name most of the types of marketing that exist.
- Definition,
- Objectives,
- Customer acquisition channels,
- Marketing tool(s)…
🧱 Now you can set about building your own marketing strategy with our marketing tips. And, when it’s done, launch multichannel actions (LinkedIn + Email) with Waalaxy! 👽
Next up in our FAQ 🚨: marketing professions (with salaries and studies to get there) and the different principles of marketing!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is marketing: marketing professions, salaries, studies?
Marketing encompasses several hundred professions (fields and specializations). 🤯
Of course, we can’t list all marketing professionals and marketing specialists… But here are the main marketing jobs, with their main mission and a salary range 👇🏼 :
| Job | Description | Estimated annual salary (€) |
|---|---|---|
| What is Marketing manager | Manage a company’s global marketing strategy. Identify the best campaigns and channels according to the offer. | 50,000 – 90,000 € |
| Product Manager | Manage the development and sales promotion or promotion of a specific product. Launch projects. Define offer and persona. | 40,000 – 70,000 € |
| What is Marketing project manager | Coordinate and implement marketing projects. | 35,000 – 55,000 € |
| What is Marketing manager | Execute all operational marketing actions. | 30,000 – 45,000 € |
| Communications manager | Choose the best channels to contact and reach target audiences. Oversee the company’s internal and external communications. | 45,000 – 80,000 € |
| Digital marketing manager | Develop and manage digital marketing campaigns and digital marketing strategy. | 50,000 – 85,000 € |
| Community manager | Animate and manage the brand’s presence on social networks. | 25,000 – 35,000 € |
| Social media manager | Develop the brand’s global social media strategy. Execute marketing actions and launch campaigns. | 35,000 – 55,000 € |
| Content manager | Design and oversee content creation to attract and engage audiences. | 35,000 – 60,000 € |
| SEO/SEM manager | Optimize natural and paid search to increase visibility on search engines. | 40,000 – 70,000 € |
| Growth hacker | Implement strategies for rapid, measurable growth. | 40,000 – 70,000 € |
| Data analyst marketing | Verify results, analyze and interpret data to inform marketing decisions. | 35,000 – 65,000 € |
| Traffic manager | Manage traffic acquisition on various digital channels. | 40,000 – 60,000 € |
| CRM manager | Optimize customer relations and manage loyalty campaigns. | 45,000 – 75,000 € |
| Email marketing manager | Design and implement emailing campaigns to achieve conversion and loyalty objectives. | 35,000 – 55,000 € |
| Brand manager | 360° vision of all corporate communications. Ensure brand image management and consistency. Adapt the company’s storytelling. | 45,000 – 75,000 € |
| Media planner | Plan advertising campaigns on various media. | 30,000 – 50,000 € |
| Web marketing manager | Coordinate web-specific marketing activities (SEO, affiliation, etc.). | 40,000 – 65,000 € |
| UX/UI designer | Work on optimizing the user experience on digital interfaces. | 35,000 – 60,000 € |
| What is Marketing Researcher | Carry out market research to understand trends, dominant behaviors and competitors (benchmarking). | 35,000 – 55,000 € |
Advertised values may vary according to experience, company size, geographical location, marketing budget…
Titles and missions also depend on the organization you work for, the size of the structure, the marketing industry, the types of marketing actions… To understand the main missions, it’s best to look at marketing job offers on job boards. 🧠
Would you like to work in one of the marketing professions listed above? 📚 Generally speaking, the studies to follow are:
- “Classic” cursus 🎻: enter a business school, i.e. up to Bachelor’s degree in marketing or Master of Science in Marketing (MSM), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Digital Marketing (MSDM) or Master in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC).
- Less classic ⚡️: start by finding a job as a marketing assistant without having gone through the classic curriculum and develop your skills and know-how (for example, with online training courses).
However, you generally need at least 5 years’ experience to reach management positions. ⏳
Of course, everything will again depend on your skills and past professional successes, as well as the structure which want to hire a marketing specialist or marketing team.
What is marketing mix (4 ps of marketing)?
🌟 The purpose of the marketing principles (or marketing mix) is to define a company’s marketing positioning in a market and differentiate itself from the competition.
First, there were 4 ps of marketing. 👇🏼
Then they became 7 p’s of marketing. 👇🏼
🚀 So now you know “what is marketing” and the different marketing approaches you can use to develop your own successful marketing. See you soon! 👽
