Marketing: Myth vs Reality

Is it a bird, is it a plane…….well, it can be anything you want it to be as long as you know how to market it. While most B-schools grads might be familiar with the conventional definition of creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings of value to consumers, if marketing were to be described in simple words, it is a world of possibilities. But there are certain myths that often limit these possibilities, so let’s clear the air on the same.

1. Is it Marketing or is it Sales?

Sales is a part of the larger umbrella of marketing rather than the two functioning as independent silos. This is the last and the most important touchpoint of the value chain that brings in the big monies to the business. It’s where you deal with the actual people and convert them into your customers. As customer needs evolve, Marketing needs feedback from sales and sales needs marketing to identify the right place, time, message, and medium so that its front line warriors are able to capture the market. So don’t get disheartened with your initial sales stint because you can never be a good marketeer if you don’t understand sales. 

2. Marketing is just for the “creative/artist types” :

Thanks to those movies in which the protagonist quits his boring job and suddenly finds meaning in life by becoming an artist, we have all grown up with the notion talent and art are synonyms and you can only be passionate if you’re an artist. From the silver screen to your laptop screen, even a spreadsheet can get your endorphins running, if you know how to make sense of it. As marketing becomes more data-driven, the science behind it is becoming much more structured and measurable. From bringing the uniqueness of content to logic to audience targeting, you can be an analyst or an artist or both, based on your talent. Marketing in the end is a concoction of both art and science,  brewed with customer’s interest at heart.

3. Marketing translates to only FMCGs careers:

While marketing is a big part of the FMCG business, it is a domain required in every business possible. From a bar of soap to a high-end AI program, essentially everyone is in the business of selling. And it’s not just about brand management, sales, and advertising anymore, you can be into marketing research, analytics, digital marketing, consumer psychology, product development or maybe just create a branch of your own. The possibilities are endless!

4. There are no Gospel truths, but one:

While Kotler can be your bible, there are no hardbound facts in marketing. Not only does it evolve with the customers, but it also has the potential of deciding where the customer goes. Industry trends and best practices can serve as benchmarks, but there is only one fact that matters in marketing. Create value for customers. It’s not a sprint but a marathon, and your marketing strategy can survive in the long run, if it has the customer’s interest at heart.

Written by Ridhima Kukreja

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