Looking at all the billboards, product placements, videos, and promotions we have to inevitably ask ourselves – what role does marketing play in our society? In this post, I will answer that!
Let’s start with a quick definition of what marketing actually is.
Marketing is how businesses interact and communicate with their potential customers.
Through marketing, businesses present their products, services, offers, to prospective buyers. They do so through multiple forms of campaigns and advertisements.
Marketing is also how businesses “identify, anticipate, and satisfy customer needs and wants” (Wikipedia).
The main role of marketing is to grow and expand a business. Marketing plays a major role in our society. But how exactly does it influence our day to day lives? And, on the other hand, how do we influence marketing?
It Brings Businesses and Customers Together
The main role of marketing is to create a relationship between a business and its potential customers.
Customers have different needs and desires. Businesses identify them and create various products/services. Then, through marketing, businesses get their product/service out there for the public to see. And to buy!
Marketing is how businesses:
- inform potential customers about their product/service
- let customers know how the product/service works
- inform them what benefits the product/service provides
- explains what needs the product/service meets.
After that, marketing works to solidify a business’ relationship with its customers. And expand its reach and profitability.
It Works to Expand a Business and Set It Apart
Marketing has the benefit of broadening a business’ reach.
Through TV ads, social media marketing, printed ads, or billboards, businesses reach an almost unlimited number of potential customers. This increases their potential to sell.
On top of this, good marketing strategies drive demand.
Marketing works to increase the public’s interest in a product/service, increasing sales. It does so by boosting its utility and desirability through advertising its unique features or benefits.
Take car manufacturers for example. They each offer potential customers something different. Mercedes offers reliability. Toyota offers specialized off-road vehicles. Honda focuses on innovation. Marketing is how all these companies set their product apart.
Marketing also influences distribution.
It ensures that potential customers have access to the product/service at the right time.
All these aspects increase a business’ chances of expanding and growing its profitability and clarifying what role does marketing play in our society.
Marketing Sustains Product/Service Development
Over time, a company’s relationship with its potential customers develops. When it does, businesses can learn valuable information.
They can better understand the characteristics of potential customers. And the specifics of what they want or need.
Using marketing research, businesses achieve progress. Through marketing tools such as surveys and product testing, they gather information. Then, they analyze it and study customer and market patterns to drive innovation.
Based on this information, businesses understand how to develop their current products/services to better serve specific customer needs/wants.
At the same time, they also learn what new products/services to develop based on market demand.
Solidifies a Business’ Credibility and Authority
Through marketing, businesses create brands. A brand is how a business is defined and the main set of principles that dictates how it does business. The main goal of a brand is to shape how the public perceives it. This is what’s known as brand image.
Customers trust established brands and consistently buy from them. Therefore, all businesses strive to achieve a positive brand image. And a high level of customer loyalty and retention.
The way they do this is through targeted marketing campaigns.
Driving Economic Growth
Because it creates more demand for products/services, marketing also fuels production and distribution.
When more products are sold, more needs to be produced. And delivered to customers.
This boosts industrial growth and increases employment opportunities. Both in manufacturing processes and the transport and distribution niche. In turn, this translates into increased income levels and a higher standard of living for more people.
As sales rise, businesses also gain more income. This means that they pay more taxes to the state and fuel further economic development.
It Drives Competition
All businesses use marketing to drive demand and grow their market share. This leads to competition.
Competition, in turn, stimulates businesses to deliver improved products with features that set them apart from other businesses.
For buyers, this is very good. Because of competition, they can have access to superior products/services and lower prices.
Marketing Educates Customers and Models Their Behavior
Marketing research allows businesses to better understand why and how people decide to buy.
By understanding consumer patterns and preferences, marketing can model customer behavior.
It does this by adapting marketing strategies to the specific needs, wants, and triggers of consumers.
But, marketing is not only useful for selling more products.
Businesses also use marketing to inform their customers about significant changes. Such as when they merge or enter into new partnerships with other businesses. Or when they decide to take on a whole new approach to the way they do business. Such as when Adidas pledged to only use recycled plastics by 2024 and started making 100% recyclable shoes.
Finally, marketing also works to educate the public and raise awareness on important issues to society.
Helping Businesses Optimize their Advertising Budgets
As the market develops, so does marketing. Before, sales skills were the main element. Right now, marketing analysts and strategists are the main players.
With the rise of technology, marketing analysts can research and analyze more customer data. It’s a concept known as marketing intelligence.
This leads to more accurate predictions, recommendations, and tactics that businesses can apply to attract more customers and sell more products/services.
This also helps businesses save money and improve their marketing strategies.
Having more information, they can focus their efforts and spend their marketing budgets where they have the most chances of converting a potential customer.
Conclusion
Now you know what role does marketing play in our society. As you can see, marketing has more than one role.
Some have to do with increasing demand for a product/service. Others, with employment and economic growth.
While it’s not always easy to see its effects, one thing is certain. Marketing is an important element of the modern world and is constantly developing to bring businesses and consumers closer.
