What Is Marketing, Anyway?

“Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.” – Milan Kundera

If you were to play your own version of ‘Billy On The Street,’ asking 10 unsuspecting passersby to define marketing, you’d probably get 10 different answers.

And we’re not even remotely confident that even one of them would be right – or wrong, actually.

Stick with us here.

The reason the answers would be so varied and empirically right and wrong is the very reason marketing proves mission-critical for businesses: It’s an umbrella term that touches nearly every aspect of putting an organization’s goods and services exactly where would-be consumers can find them, whether they were looking for them or not.

Marketing is what you say – your promise, your value proposition, your differentiator. Marketing is how you say it – your tone, your personality, your culture. Marketing is when you say it. Marketing also determines to whom you should be saying all the things and where you should say all the things.

It’s an ad. A brochure. A press release. A white paper. A landing page. A blog. A search result. A shopping cart email nudge. A friend’s referral.  And, as of the last decade or more, marketing is also a social media account and every ad and post created therein.

Simply put: Marketing is a conversation that, once over, has identified a need and demonstrates a commitment to prioritize the customer ahead of a desire to simply sell a product or service.

Marketing: Five Things It Actually Is

Enough about what marketing broadly is, sometimes is, and might kinda sorta be, but only sometimes. Let’s get down to some things that marketing definitely, absolutely and assuredly is … 

1. Marketing Is Relevant, Findable Content.

Bill Gates once famously declared that ‘Content is king.’ And our very own in-house senior copywriter extraordinaire wouldn’t disagree. (She may have even written that very sentence. To herself. About herself. We’ll never tell.)

Why? Because, at its simplest, marketing is the exchange of information. A human connecting with a human. And, if that information is compelling enough to meet a need, you could convert a prospect into a customer.

But people can’t buy what they can’t find. If search results ‘below the fold’ on page one are largely ignored – with people only looking at the first five results on average, then page two and beyond are lost in the abyss, never to see the light of day. In fact, research shows that websites on the first results page receive almost 95% of web traffic, leaving only 5% for every other page.

Don’t leave yourself to fight for the scraps. Enter: SEO.

SEO is more competitive than ever, but don’t despair. Marketing helps you focus on an organic SEO strategy that speaks to your target audience with keywords that help you rank in search results and aligns it with your content strategy. 

Casting a big net is great, but casting the exact right net is better.

2. Marketing Is Advertising.

It wasn't so long ago that when people thought of 'advertising,' it immediately conjured Mad Man-esque images of smoky boardrooms with lowballs of whisky, neat.

It meant newspaper, magazine, television, radio and billboards.

But times have changed – and so have the options.

Now, digital marketing boasts incredible diversity, with options that can be narrowly tailored to cater to every budget, market, audience and industry.

Some businesses will find Google Ads effective. Others may discover that LinkedIn or Facebook ads yield the right reach. 

Armed with analytics, advertisers can now spend less and get more ROI, targeting exactly what they want – and nothing they don’t – for optimized targeting and personalized messaging for a higher conversion rate. 

3. Marketing Is Social Media. 

With 90% of brands using social media as a marketing tool, your marketing can now be narrowly tailored to better cater to all age groups, professions, interests, and more – uncovering a wealth of lucrative opportunities in each. 

But if everyone is on social media, how can organizations differentiate themselves on the platforms?

The answer is to have a social media strategy. Ask yourself:

• What do you want to accomplish? 

• How will you do it? 

• How much time will you need? 

• What resources, like software and tools, will you need?

• Which platforms do your target audiences use?

• How does your target audience use each platform?

Once you’ve answered the above, you can fine-tune your marketing strategy accordingly. Facebook still dominates the majority of ad spending at about 80%, all thanks to their highly-targeted ad options. But don’t limit yourself. 

Other platforms also present incredible opportunities – consider the marketing juggernaut that is the live video feature on Instagram that we mentioned earlier, for example – so consider spreading the love.

4. Marketing Is Email. 

As we’ve discussed, email marketing still works. And well. 

First, consider the cold, hard facts. Almost everyone has an email account. In fact, the number of active email accounts is set to exceed 5.6 billion this year. And 99% of those people are checking their emails daily. So if you make it into their inbox, you’ve got a direct connection with a pretty good chance of being read if your approach is right.

From customer retention and relationship nurturing to increasing sales, email has a fantastic ROI. In fact, according to a Hubspot report, email generates $38 for every $1 spent. That translates to a 3800% ROI. 

Talk about bang for your marketing buck. 

5. Marketing Is Video.

In not-so-shocking news, video is the fastest-growing media online. Again, see above for how impressive – and potent – live videos can be above.

We get it, though: People hear ‘video’ and they immediately think ‘Sounds expensive.’

But here are two secrets: It doesn’t have to be and, frankly, you can’t afford to not include videos in your marketing.

Relevant videos get priority ranking on search results pages, more impressions, more engagement, and more shares than anything else. And don’t think you need a studio, professional equipment, and a beret-clad director to get attention. You can make compelling, engaging videos for less than you think as video production is more cost-effective than ever. Think about it: You can shoot in high-quality, 4K with your smartphone.

And BONUS: Many common marketing software and tools, like HubSpot, also boast features like templates, tips, and resources for video marketing, too.

Marketing is not exclusively one of these things. It’s the combination of these things – working in concert – that proves meaningful and impactful. Marketing is for any business or organization wanting to make a connection to prospective customers. Which, incidentally, should be all businesses and organizations. It is the entirety of the process of understanding your customers, and building and maintaining relationships with them.

Whether you’re ready to make your first marketing hire or you’re looking to establish a marketing department, at SpotOn, we're eager to create and implement thoughtful digital growth strategies found in your customer experience – and all at a fraction of traditional marketing spend. 

So if you’re ready to really connect with your customers in a meaningful way, let’s chat.