Marketing is, without a doubt, one of the most important tools in business. It is safe to say that, even if your product is objectively better than that of your rival company, but the marketing is not as effective, it will likely lose the battle for the consumers’ money. Thus, it is crucial to familiarize them with the brand. (Brindle, 2017)
The author of the text describes the functions of marketing and the importance of being customer-centered rather accurately in addition to listing all the skills necessary for successful marketing. Mentioning the benefits of companies being environmentally aware is yet another strong point. There is no question that nowadays the concerns for the environment are higher than ever before and that using them in marketing, while challenging, is a sure way to attract more potential customers.
However, more attention in this discussion should be drawn towards the Internet and its relationship with marketing. In particular, we need to consider how simply “liking” a certain brand on a social network such as Facebook does not make a person more likely to start buying more of that brand’s products or spreading the word about it among their friends. (John, Emrich, Gupta, Norton, 2017) Thus, companies need to find better, more elaborate methods of using social networks for marketing. Also of note is the concern that marketing as a discipline needs to be elevated, i.e., the focus of marketing needs to be shifted from the short-term financial performance and the satisfaction of individual customers towards viewing them as not only customers but also as citizens and improving the standard of living. (Webster Jr., Lusch, 2013) This could be done by distributing responsibilities clearly and being more efficient in dealing with resources. This concern needs to be addressed in the initial work, as the future of marketing is as important as its present.
References
Brindle, F. (2017). The impact of digital marketing disruption on the localization industry. Multilingual, 28(3), 44-47.
John, L.K., Emrich, O., Gupta, S., Norton M. (2017) Does “Liking” Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand’s Social Network on Marketing Outcomes. Journal Of Marketing Research, 54(1), 144-155
Webster, F. E., & Lusch, R. F. (2013). Elevating marketing: marketing is dead! Long live marketing!. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(4), 389-399.