Definition of Marketing
This article contains a compilation of definitions proposed institutions and experts on marketing, including the American Marketing Association, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Kotler, Stanton, McCarthy, Howard, Al Ries, Jack Trout. It also includes a structural analysis reveals the critical elements of the definition of marketing.
Definition of Marketing, experts in the field:
- For the American Marketing Association (AMA): “The marketing is a function of the organization and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers, and to handle relations with the latter, so that benefit all organization … “.
- Philip Kotler, author of “Marketing Management”: “The marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through generating, providing and exchanging products of value with his fellows “ [ 1].
- Jerome McCarthy, Trailblazer Award from the American Marketing Asociation: “The marketing is conducting activities that aim to meet the goals of an organization, to anticipate consumer or customer requirements and to channel a flow of suitable goods needs and services the producer to the consumer or customer pays “.
- For Stanton, Etzel and Walker, authors of the book “Fundamentals of Marketing”: ” The marketing system is a total business activities designed to plan products satisfactions of needs, assign prices, promote and distribute them to target markets in order to achieve the objectives of the organization “.
- John A. Howard of the University of Columbia: The marketing is the process of:
- Identify consumer needs.
- Conceptualize such needs based on the ability of the company to produce.
- Communicate that conceptualization to have the ability to decision making in the company.
- Conceptualize production in relation to the previously identified consumer needs.
- Communicate that consumer conceptualization “.
- For consultants Al Ries and Jack Trout, authors of “The War of Marketing”: The term marketing means “war”. Both consultants, believe that a company should be directed to the competitor; that is, to devote more time to the analysis of each “participant” in the market, giving a list of competitive strengths and weaknesses, as well as an action plan to exploit them and defend them. .
In sum, and complementing the above definitions, I propose the following definition of marketing :
Marketing is a whole system of activities that includes a set of processes by which the existing needs or desires are identified in the market to satisfy them in the best way possible to promote the exchange of goods and / or services of value to customers, in exchange for a utility or benefit.
Structural analysis of the definition of marketing:
Considering the above definitions, we can identify a set of “critical elements” that make up the basic structure of marketing, which reveal its true scope, as detailed below:
- The marketing is a social and administrative process: one is considered social process that involved groups of people with needs, desires and demands. According to Kotler, the starting point of the discipline of marketing lies in human needs and  desires.
In addition, is considered an administrative process, because the marketing needs of its basic elements, such as: planning, organization, the implementation and control for the development of its activities
Both basic characteristics and are part of the “definition of marketing”, help us remember two very important points:
- The marketing is done by people and directed at persons (social process): This is essential not to lose sight of the “humanization” of their various activities.
- The marketing needs to be administered: Today is not enough to have brilliant ideas, you have to plan them, organize, implement and control, to thereby, increase the chances of success and make the company more competitive.
- The marketing promotes the exchange of products of value to his fellow: (.. p axle money). Exchange is the act in which someone gets something (.. p axis a product or service) providing anything in return
According to Philip Kotler, for the exchange to take place must meet five conditions: 1) That there are at least two parts, 2) that each part has something that can be of value to the other party, 3) each party is able to communicate and deliver, 4 ) that each party is free to accept or reject the offer, 5) each party considers that it is appropriate or desirable to negotiate with the other party. With this in mind, one can conclude thatmarketing promotes exchange processes for the satisfaction of all the parties involved in it.
- The marketing is a function of the company: In a broad sense, a company consists of different departments (eg Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, etc ….); which, but perform different functions in a coordinated manner to each other.
The marketing , in turn, is a function comprising a series of activities (identifying opportunities, market research, development of strategies and tactics, etc …) with its own objectives, but they are closely interrelated with other departments, to thereby serve the overall goals of the company .
- The marketing is aimed at identifying and meeting the needs and desires: The needs are related to the basic necessities (food, shelter, housing, security), however, wants to do with the specific satisfactions (eg a hamburger McDonald’s to satisfy hunger). Therefore, one of the most important tasks of marketing is to identify the needs and desires that exist in the market, then, satisfy them in the best possible way with a product or service, of course, in exchange for a utility or benefit.
- The marketing assesses the productive capacity of the company: According to John A. Howard, one of the functions of marketing . is to conceptualize the needs and desires of the target market in products or services according to the productive capacity of the company
to fulfill this function, marketers need to assess the actual production capacities of the company for 3 reasons: To ensure quality, meet the “cap” of its production capacity and determine the equilibrium points.
- The marketing uses a total business system: A system is a set of elements that act and interact with each other to achieve certain goals in a specific period of time.
Then, the marketing is a system that has a set of elements that act and They interact to help achieve the objectives of the company.
- The marketing must meet the goals of the company to keep it in force: The activities of marketing is done to help achieve those objectives (short, medium and long term) that the company has proposed. This requires you to participate in synergy with all other activities (financial, administrative, production, etc …).
- The marketing is responsible for customer relations for the benefit of the organization: “We have no marketing department: customers have a department” . says the CEO of Southwest Airlines, Hell Kellner 
This statement shows the conviction a company focused on maintaining long-term relationships with their customers, which is without doubt one of the most important activities of marketing. In any case, establishing permanent links between the company and customers in order to generate (if possible) “customers for life” is one of the most important goals of modern marketing.
- The marketing is a tool to compete with other companies: According to Al Ries and Jack Trout, all companies have a segment to conquer and overcome competitors or those who defend . This definition recalls the basic principle that no company is an “island”; therefore, you need to internalize the characteristics of its customers and the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors; and then establish a plan of action that allows position, defend and attack.
 : From the book: Marketing Management (Eighth Edition) by Philip Kotler, p. 7.
 : From the book: Fundamentals of Marketing (13th Edition) Stanton, Etzel and Walker, p. 7.
 : From the book: War of Marketing Al Ries and Jack Trout, pp. 4 and 5.
 : From the book: The marketing according to Kotler, Philip Kotler, 1999 Edition, p. 58.
 : the website of the American Marketing Asociation: MarketingPower.com, Section Dictionary of Marketing Terms, URL: http://www.marketingpower.com/
 : Commercial Techniques Workshop, New editions Lens SA, 2nd Booklet, p. 25.
 : From the book: Fundamentals of Marketing, Sixth Edition, by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong, p. 21.