Marketing is: Finding, Creating & Keeping Customers

You often hear people talk about marketing in terms of specific tasks: “we need to work on the marketing” is interchangeable in their mind with “we need a brochure & a website”. Sure, in some cases websites & brochures can be used in marketing, but this is focusing on “the means”, not “the ends”. These are just tactics you use within marketing. So - if marketing is not just the sum of these tactics - what is marketing?

Marketing is: Finding, Creating & Keeping Customers

If you are ‘marketing’ something, you’re trying to ‘find, create & keep customers’ for it.

You might find them via word of mouth, or via advertising, or via a scheme to get your website to the top of Google for some relevant term…

You might create them (turn them into a customer) via a ‘free 30 day trial’, or by selling them something, or by gaining permission to send them emails every now & again.

You might keep them by providing them with exceptional service, or by creating new products that match their needs perfectly, or by making it exceptionally difficult for them to leave you.

Reference: http://www.omstrategy.com/107/what-is-marketing#more-107

My opinion:

It is mentioned above that marketing is ‘Finding, Creating, Keeping Customers’. I would like to add a fourth part to that: ‘Turning your customers into advocates’: Delighting them so much that they do your marketing for you.