Marketing is one of the most important components of business, yet surprisingly, many people know very little about the concept of marketing. It is quite simply the process by which organizations develop and produce a product or service so that they can make a profitable return on investment. Marketing refers to this process, an organization undertakes to engage its prospective target audience, develop brand awareness so as to generate profit in return for spending and finally deliver the product or service to the customer in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Marketing therefore, encompasses marketing the product or service, developing consumer attitudes towards the product or service, developing sales and marketing support and planning.
One of the problems with the marketing concept is that many businesses and consumers alike tend to focus on the selling aspect of marketing rather than on developing and marketing concept. Consequently, some companies neglect to develop a marketing strategy which will ensure that the company maximizes its profits. In addition, some companies are unable to define their target market correctly and consequently marketing myopia; confusing the concept of marketing with customer care and product concept. The result is that some companies develop a product concept, a marketing strategy and a marketing campaign but fail to develop a proper marketing myopia and instead engage in a number of activities such as product diversification, spending a lot of money on advertising and branding efforts without necessarily achieving any substantial profits.
Fortunately for businesses and consumers alike, there is a plethora of marketing resources available on the internet that can be used to effectively develop a sound marketing strategy, formulate a marketing plan and evaluate marketing strategies. A number of marketing consultants and management consultants provide marketing services across a variety of industries including fashion, technology, communications, and consumer goods and consumer packaged goods. Such marketing consultants and management consultants use a number of marketing concepts such as consumer positioning, viral marketing, positioning and other such techniques to develop new marketing strategies and to improve upon the profitability of a company’s marketing program. Ultimately, such marketing management resources should help businesses develop a marketing strategy and implement a comprehensive marketing program that takes into account the complete spectrum of marketing activities and contributes to overall business performance.