Online Surveys To Earn Money - Finding a Definition for Marketing

Still others think of it as a set of sophisticated intellectual technologies that allow purveyors of goods and services to communicate the value about their product or service to buyers. Others see it as part of a global consumerist trend that is hurting the environment. Some people view marketing as a manipulative practice trying to get people to buy things they do not need. The term marketing means different things to different people.

Here I offer a definition of marketing and then summarize some of the most prevalent views of marketing.

Excluding (but constantly feeding information back into) the actual production of the good or the performance of the service itself, a Definition of Marketing: I define marketing as: any activity involved in the facilitation of the sale of a good or service.

Three seemingly prevalent views of marketing:

They see marketing as basically a distraction from their life and something to avoid. Marketing is merely a set of ethically questionable practices concerned with getting people's attention at any cost and in any way possible, to some people. And none of them are all-too-popular among the general populace, and browser pop-up windows are all marketing practices, junk mail, spam, intrusive Manipulator: Telemarketing.

Pushing products that are unnecessary or even harmful to the environment, marketing is viewed merely as an increasingly sophisticated tool for this global consumerist trend, for some of these people. Consumerism is seen as a threat to the environment and to traditional ways of life, with billions of dollars in products flowing across national borders each week. Tool of Global Consumerism: A growing number of people around the world have for the past few decades been resisting the trend toward global consumerism.

Making the buyer aware of goods or services which might confer value upon him or her, this view holds that marketing is doing a service to society because it is bridging the communication gap between buyer and seller. Value Communicator: Yet another view of marketing (often held by businesspeople or marketers themselves) is that of a set of sophisticated tools and methods for communicating the value of a product or service to would-be buyers.

Am I being manipulated on a daily basis by people who do not even know me? Its pervasiveness raises questions such as: who has influence over my thoughts? This increasing sophistication of marketing can be both amazing to observe and at the same time feel a bit threatening on a personal level. I think it is undeniable that the practices and tactics of marketing are becoming more sophisticated than ever. I believe that there are elements of truth in all of these views of marketing.

And buyers to continue to improve marketing practices while minding its effects on society and the environment, marketers, it is up to us as sellers. As long as it is done ethically, marketing is here to stay and indeed I believe it performs a very valuable service. Ultimately I think that how marketing is practiced and how it affects society as a whole is determined by the practices of individual marketers rather than by something inherently wrong with marketing itself, and yet.