In the full definition, Merriam-Webster defines marketing as:
1a: The act or process of selling or purchasing in a market.
1b: The process or technique of promoting, selling and distributing a product or service.
In the simple definition, it defines it as:
- The activities that are involved in making people aware of a company’s product, making sure the products are available to be bought.
Is that what you would say as well? Maybe, maybe not. We polled some of the folks here at TRIBUS in all different (non-marketing) roles and these are some of the responses that we received:
“Marketing means identifying which factors drive specific decisions and leveraging them in a specific way in order to elicit the desired consequence.”
“Marketing is where creative initiatives align with business goals to develop strategic brand recognition that can be used in a multitude of ways.”
“Marketing is The effective advertising (through various channels) of your product and/or service to generate increased revenue.”
“Marketing has to do with building an image, and promoting it.”
Where am I going with this?
The point is, marketing means different things to different people. Like beauty, the definition of marketing is in the eye of the beholder. The important thing is whether or not what you are doing is working for your organization.
I was once asked in a job interview what marketing meant to me. I took a deep breath, gave the best definition of marketing as I saw it, and then waited for the interviewer to compliment me on my eloquent and articulate response. Instead he said, “that’s wrong.” Wait, what? Wrong? Isn’t that like asking someone what their favorite color or song or movie is? If you are asking someone what something means to them, how can there be a wrong answer? I didn’t take that job (or maybe it wasn’t offered to me?), but that memory stuck with me.
Fast forward to today and this blog. What is marketing? Better yet, what does it mean to the branding and marketing team here at TRIBUS? At TRIBUS, our branding and marketing team is working hard to create and enhance our brand awareness. We are trying to tell a story. Our story. A story that will resonate with our audience. A story that will live beyond our products and services.
No matter what your product or service is, you have a story to tell. Tell it. Tell it loudly to anyone who will listen. Because they will listen if you believe in it and your employees believe in it. There’s no harm in sharing it. And maybe, just maybe you will enhance your brand awareness a little more with each word.
There are many different mediums by which you can tell your story. Use one, use all of them. Whether your definition of marketing is about selling goods or creating awareness, somewhere in between or something entirely different, it’s your definition and no one can tell you that you’re wrong. What matters is your story.
Telling our story. That’s what we’re going to continue to do here at TRIBUS and we won’t stop until we feel like everyone has heard what we have to say because we’re excited about our story. This blog is just the beginning.
