Whats your definition of marketing?

[Chris Worner]

According to the American Marketing Associations, marketing is defined as;

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.

link: AMA Definition of Marketing - American Marketing Association

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My definition is building relationships with people based on value then suggesting releavant and usefull products and/or services.

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The reason I am curious as to your definition is I had somebody tell me that building backlinks (SEO) is marketing. This person bragged of having built 1400 links in four days. he also said, "spamming is using a software like scrapebox." (Scrapebox does things other than spam blog comments)

Needless to say, I find the idea of this person building 1400 backlinks in four days manually while still adding value highly implausible considering the time it would take. Not to mention you wouldn't have time to do anything else.

Nor does SEO sound like marketing to me.

-Chris

[CDarklock]

Originally Posted by Chris Worner

The reason I am curious as to your definition is I had somebody tell me that building backlinks (SEO) is marketing.

Building links - or seeking search engine rank - strikes me as one of many processes which might communicate your offer.

If you're on a forum, you click on my profile, and you see a link that says "make buttloads of cash" - that communicates an offer.

If you search for "buttloads of cash" and my site comes up, that communicates an offer, too.

And if nothing else, the offers I communicate have value to me. One would hope I also believe they have value to the people who get my communications.

So yeah, I'd say linkbuilding and SEO are marketing.

Of course, so is throwing bricks through people's windows and screaming "BUY BURMA SHAVE." Just because something is marketing doesn't make it right.

[payment proof]

Getting the word out about your product or service and and positioning it in a positive mind set of the consumer, thus inducing them to take action.

In other words, you need to advertise and let people know about your product/service. That's step 1. But you also need to make people want that product/service.

You can be the best promoter in the world, but if no one wants to buy what you're selling, you're screwed.

[spennyc]

Anything you do that builds your business and/or leads to making money.

[Jase1977]

I believe marketing is getting the word out about your site/product and building a relationship with your customer. That is true marketing in a sense. (to be successful long-term in my opinion)

[Usmile]

For me marketing is building relationship with other people to acquire trust and credibility in order to pursue once goal.

[goindeep]

Fishing.

Marketing is like fishing.

Sales is like reeling the fish in, gutting it, scaling it, throwing the fish into a hot pan and going "mmmm mm mmm slurp".

Fishing is like marketing.

You must do your research before you head off. You ask the locals, you search online for information. Are there even any fish to catch in that area?

You must have the right tools for the job. The right rod and reel, the right bait, the right hooks and jigs, the right burley, and the right boat or raft if your heading out to sea.

You need to plan for what time you head out, high tide or low tide? Do you plan to throw the rod in one hour before the tide changes or two hours before? How long do you plan to stay? Until the beer runs out?

You need to plan for the weather and of course you need to target a specific fish. What does that fish like to eat, how big is it, does it even taste good?

Then you need to tweak your approach, test, test and test some more. Is your fishing getting you any bites? Any sales? Or do you need to change something?

Maybe you need to put two hooks on the one line or maybe you need a few more reels in the water?

Marketing = Fishing.

[jhonybravo222]

It is building a relationship with customer and also creating value for your clients and for your own self.

[jhonybravo222]

It is about building a relationship with your customers and creating value for your customers and for your ownself.

[GeraldNitram]

Marketing. I'd define it as something that you do to spread the word about something and convincing them to accept it as something that they can put to good use. The keyword here is "conversation." You need to talk to people -- may it be in a classic face-to-face conversation, or via a channel like instant messaging systems and social media -- to be able to do marketing.

[Michaelangelo Flores]

I like to look at it rather simply:

Putting what you have to offer in front of the people who are most likely to be interested.

That's my definition of marketing.

[Shaun OReilly]

My definition of marketing...

"Marketing is finding people who want a solution and focusing
their desire so that they buy from you"

And remember what Peter Drucker said...

"The purpose of marketing is to make selling superfluous."

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

[WhiteDove]

Marketing is something you do everyday, you do everywhere and it never stops.

[Alesiasablock]

Marketing is getting and engaging relationship into business trade.