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A business that sells products or services must have a way of attracting customers. The process of promoting a company’s products or services to gain customers is known as marketing. Successful marketing also goes one step further because a business should also pursue ways to retain customers for future sales. The size of a company determines marketing strategy. Some companies may have a department dedicated to performing this work. Other companies may need to pursue these tasks while performing other work, too.
What Is Marketing?
People who buy products and services must have a way of learning about the various companies that provide them. To succeed, companies must have a plan for advertising products or services so people who want them have the opportunity to purchase them. Successful marketing involves a variety of different tactics, with everything working together to promote products or services and retain customers. In-depth research is the crux of successful marketing because a business owner must have data that indicates that a product or service will resonate with consumers.
History of Marketing and Timeline
Enterprise and economies have a long history dating back to ancient eras. People have been engaging in commerce for thousands of years. Hence, ancient people utilized some forms of marketing as they conducted business. The Industrial Revolution paved the way for more modern forms of advertising and retailing of goods and services.
Print Advertising, 1450s: Print advertising made it possible for retailers to pass out brochures and fliers to potential customers.
Magazines, 1730s:The first magazines were developed and released.
Posters, 1839: France banned posters on private property.
Billboards, 1867: People began renting billboards for advertising.
Radio Advertising, 1922: Businesses began purchasing advertising time on the radio.
Television Advertising, 1941: Records indicate that people began purchasing television advertising at this time.
Telemarketing During the 1950s: Telemarketing was born, with businesses utilizing the telephone to reach potential customers.
Mobile Advertisements Between the 1970s and 1994: Advances in technology enabled new marketing capabilities via the Internet such as e-commerce promotions, database marketing, guerrilla marketing, and computer-oriented spam.
Search Marketing, 1995: Companies began the process of working to promote a business by getting search engines to send traffic to a website. Firms also began utilizing search engine optimization, or SEO, to drive traffic to websites via the use of keywords typed by consumers in search engines.
Blogging, 1998: Businesses and individuals began creating blogs as vehicles to share professional or personal information.
PPC, 2000: Pay-per-click surfaced in this year as an Internet marketing technique in which a company pays a small fee for every click on an advertisement.
Social Media, 2003: Social media websites became popular at this time as a way for people to share information and ideas with others on the Internet, including commercial messages.
Google Analytics, 2005: Google provides website owners with information about people who visit their websites that can help them see if they’re reaching their audience.
Types of Marketing
Companies can utilize different types of marketing for promotion. Internet marketing is prevalent with today’s advanced technology. This type of marketing includes any promotions that occur on the Internet, such as social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine marketing. Direct marketing includes activities such as cold-calling potential customers, sending newsletters, and purchasing space on billboards. Another marketing strategy includes maintaining a connection with previous customers via thank-you notes and special promotions.
- What Are the Two Types of Market Research?
- Advertising and Direct Marketing
- The Importance of Marketing Metrics
- Electronic Media Marketing (PDF)
The Role of Marketing
Marketing has a direct impact on sales and a company’s overall profitability. Researching sales forecasts will determine how a company plans its production. Careful planning is crucial to ensure that a company remains solvent with expenses and income. Marketing enables a business to learn about its potential customers, which helps it to fulfill the needs and desires of consumers. Marketing also enables a company to test certain products or services to see whether they are successful with consumers. With a positive consumer response, a company can proceed with a sales plan. A meager response might lead to reorganizing a campaign and trying again to test consumer response.
- The Role of Marketing (PDF)
- Overview of the Role of Marketing (PDF)
- The Role of Marketing Departments in Entrepreneurial Firms and its Impact on the Market Orientation-Performance Relationship (PDF)
- The Role of Marketing in Supply Chain Management
