What Is Marketing?

What Is Marketing?

The AMA’s definitions of marketing and marketing research are reviewed and reapproved/modified every three years by a panel of five scholars who are active researchers.

Definition of Marketing Research

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information—information used to identify and define opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate actions; monitor performance; and improve understanding of it as a process. It specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications. (Approved 2017)

Definition of Brand

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

ISO brand standards add that a brand “is an intangible asset” that is intended to create “distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefit/values.”

Types of Marketing

Influencer Marketing

This focuses on leveraging individuals who have influence over potential buyers and orienting activities around these individuals to drive a brand message to the larger market.

With this, a brand inspires or compensates influencers (which can include celebrities, content creators, customer advocates, and employees) to get the word out on their behalf.

Viral Marketing

A phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along an advertising message.

Nicknamed “viral” because the number of people exposed to a message mimics the process of passing a virus or disease from one person to another.[1]

Green Marketing

Refers to the development and promotion of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe (i.e., designed to minimize negative effects on the physical environment or to improve its quality).

This term may also be used to describe efforts to produce, promote, package, and reclaim products in a manner that is sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns.

Keyword Marketing

Involves placing a message in front of users based on the specific keywords and phrases they are using to search.[1]

A key advantage of this method is that it gives marketers the ability to reach the right people with the right message at the right time. For many marketers, this method results in the placement of an ad when certain keywords are entered.

Note that in SEO, this term refers to achieving top placement in the search results themselves.

Guerilla Marketing

Describes an unconventional and creative strategy intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.

Outbound Marketing

In this, the marketer initiates contact with the customer through methods such as TV, radio and digital display advertising. It is often used to influence consumer awareness and preference for a brand. 

Inbound Marketing

Inbound is when customers initiate contact with the marketer in response to various methods used to gain their attention. These methods include email, events, content and web design.

One purpose of inbound, is to establish the business as a source for valuable information and solutions to problems, thereby fostering customer trust and loyalty.

Referency by ama.org