What does marketing mean?
Marketing is the coordinated process of identifying customers and communicating the value of a product, service, organization, or idea to them. It can involve research, pricing, product positioning, branding, distribution, public relations, advertising, and the management of customer relationships. The word is therefore broader than advertising, which is only one method available to marketers. In everyday business language, it often refers specifically to the work of promoting a brand or increasing sales. The term can also have a critical or negative implication when promotional activity seems excessive, misleading, or designed to exploit consumer preferences. Because marketing shapes both what is offered and how it is presented, it has become central to modern commercial culture, even in organizations that do not sell ordinary products. It is widely used in business, politics, education, and nonprofit communication.
The process of identifying a target audience and promoting and selling a product, service, organization, or idea through coordinated commercial and communicative activities.
"Effective marketing connects the right product with the right audience."
Often used as an uncountable mass noun; a distinct marketing campaign or promotional undertaking may also be called a marketing.
Relating to the promotion or sale of products, services, organizations, or ideas.
"The launch was supported by an extensive marketing campaign."
Most often used attributively in compounds such as marketing strategy, marketing department, and marketing budget.
Rare in modern usage; the plural normally refers to separate promotional campaigns or marketing initiatives.
"The festival featured several marketings aimed at different audiences."
Modern marketing came to mean far more than trading in a physical marketplace: today it can shape a product before it exists, a brand after it launches, and a customer's opinion long after the sale.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does marketing come from?
The word market comes through Old French from Latin mercatus, a noun meaning "market" and a participle meaning "traded," ultimately associated with Latin mercari, "to trade." The verbal form marketing was used by the early nineteenth century for the business or activity of a market; its modern promotional sense developed with the growth of mass advertising and commercial organizations in the twentieth century. Related English words such as commerce, merchant, merchandise, and commercial ultimately derive from the same Latin family of words associated with trade.
How marketing is actually used
Marketing is usually an uncountable mass noun and is broader than advertising: advertising is one marketing technique, while marketing also encompasses research, pricing, positioning, distribution, and brand management. In phrases such as marketing department and marketing strategy, it functions attributively before a noun. The term can carry a slightly negative modern connotation when it suggests aggressive promotion or an attempt to manipulate consumers.
Easily confused with marketing
A market is the environment in which buyers and sellers trade, whereas marketing is the set of activities used to promote and sell products or services within that environment.