Let me quote from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
1
a : the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market
b : the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service
2
: an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer
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There's a certain professor at the Indian Institute of Management in India who has an interesting way of explaining the marketing concepts to his students using a scenario that will make you go "That's so true!"
Here is Marketing in a nutshell:
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!"
- That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl.
One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: "He's very rich. Marry him."
- That's Advertising.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and get her telephone number.
The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me."
- That's Telemarketing.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink.
You open the door of the car for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say: "By the way, I'm rich. Will you marry me?"
- That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl.
She walks up to you and says: "You are very rich! Can you marry me?"
- That's Brand Recognition.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!"
She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.
- That's Customer Feedback.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!"
And she introduces you to her husband.
- That's demand and supply gap.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and before you say anything,
another person come and tells her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him
- That's competition eating into your market share (-pak! competitive much?).
You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and before you say: "I'm rich Marry me!" your wife arrives.
- That's restriction for entering new markets. (lol!)
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See? We can apply Marketing in our daily lives. Haha!