Marketing is advertising! Right?

Marketing has evolved over the years and B2C organisations esp FMCG know how IMPORTANT marketing is and what marketing is.  (What i mean by FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) is groceries, games, toiletries etc.)

Unfortunately B2B/ Technical organisation don’t. Now i’m being very ‘general’ here as there are some great B2B companies out there with great marketing.  However the majority of businesses are not clear on the subject.

Philip Kotler (Big Guru of Marketing) defines marketing as “satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process” (I love this one!)

SO getting back to my main question “Marketing is advertising? Right?” Not quite.  Marketing as Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) describes is the “management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”

It is not just one departments role!  Its everyones role!  Its how someone picks up the phone and welcomes the customer, its the shipping department and how well they ship the widgets, its how you look and feel at a show, its how you deal with your customer – its your reputation and how you are perceived!  Its your brand.

This is a simple overview for you to digest.  Remember its everyone within the organisation and don’t forget your people!  Its the communications between departments.  For example have you spoken to one person within an organisation then asked to call back to speak to a colleague?  You call back and the new person has no idea what you are on about!  Poor isn’t it!  Well thats part of your marketing.

Marketing comes from the top as well as the bottom.  You will find many B2B companies are more focused on PRODUCTION or R&D and not the customer.  Yes companies can be successful with a production focused approach but it wont last!  Its about the customer and what they need and want.  Many B2B Organisations are led by innovators (which is wonderful); these people have an in depth knowledge about the market and what they want and need (they will need) but as the company gets bigger it can be lost with the many layers it has to go through.  So by having your organisation marketing focused your focused on the customer.

What do you think?