I first gave my definition of marketing on this blog two years ago. I still believe Marketing should be a Sales operation, and that effective marketing is sales at scale. But there are a lot of kinds of marketing and all are important. In general, Marketing serves these functions:
Define the Brand
Find the Audience
Deliver the Message
Build the Relationship
*test/optimize
I intentionally did not number them because I do not want to suggest an order. With new companies and new products the process would probably go in this order, but actually it can go in any order because every function should be iterative and ongoing. That is why the last point gets an asterisk. Stagnation is decline in disguise; success favors change.
Define the Brand
Find the Audience
Deliver the Message
Build the Relationship
*test/optimize
I intentionally did not number them because I do not want to suggest an order. With new companies and new products the process would probably go in this order, but actually it can go in any order because every function should be iterative and ongoing. That is why the last point gets an asterisk. Stagnation is decline in disguise; success favors change.