Don’t think – as many people still do – that marketing is simply the smart, “in”, word for selling. Selling is a vital, indispensable component of marketing, but only one of several other activities encompassed by the term ‘marketing’. Marketing thinking and planning begins at, or even before, the drawing board and ends only when the company has made the product/service that the customer is really satisfied with.

Because marketing affects so much the company’s resources and activities, it is by definition a team effort. Good marketing is the end of a well-led management team fully imbued with the marketing concept. The marketing executive is responsible for providing the basic information and guidance about prospective markets, their behaviour, size and potential for each product or service within the company. It is his or her role to draw the marketing plans and to ensure that these are implemented efficiently and profitably.

Your Career in Marketing

The demand for marketing personnel appears to be high at all times; and, at least for the foreseeable future, this trend is expected to continue upwards. The reason for this is that more and more business people have recognised the centrality of marketing in generating profit. It would appear, therefore, that there is a job out there for you in marketing, provided you are willing to work hard for it.

 

It is difficult to make generalizations about marketing careers because marketing is part of any organisation, irrespective of size or sector. For example, marketing exists in small neighbourhood retailers and giant multinational conglomerates, while marketing positions range from selling automobiles to curating art museums. Yet, in spite of the many diverse careers available in marketing and the multiple meanings attached to it, a few things hold for all marketing activities.
 

For one thing whatever the product or service in question may be, it will always be geared to an actual market. And what is a market, after all, but a collection of people? Working with people and trying to understand how they behave can be extremely satisfying, especially since both the marketing environment and the individuals included in it are constantly changing. It has been said that nothing happens in a society until somebody sells something and that is really what marketing is all about. The whole economic system comes to life through marketing, for if people did not buy there would be no point in firms producing anything. Therefore, positions in marketing can offer an additional compensation beyond a salary: the feeling that you are helping to make something happen, that you are helping to keep the economic cycle going, while promoting consumer satisfaction and general well being.