Difference between Marketing and Selling [Archives:2000/32/Business & Economy]

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August 7 2000

Shams Tabrez, Director Marketing, “CO”,
United Travel & Tourism
It is quite common that many people in general and businessmen/students in particular mistakenly use the two terms: Marketing and Selling as synonyms.
As a matter of fact, these two terms have extremely different meanings and concepts in Marketing Management. Let us have a quick glance over the comparison, which will give us a true picture of the difference between the two most commonly used words, Marketing and Selling.
Through this comparison we can easily make out the difference between Marketing and Selling.
As a matter of fact Marketing controls the pricing, sales, Advertising product planning and public relation activities alongwith the entire organizational objectives.
Kindly allow me to quote the definition of Marketing given by American Management Association (1985)
“Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives”.
This definition of Marketing is widely accepted.
Without doubt, Marketing is getting the right goods and services to the right people, at the right place, at the right time, at the right price with the right communication and the right product promotion.
Marketing is the performance of those business activities, which are involved in the flow of ideas, goods and services from their points of production to the points of consumption.
The objective of marketing is to ascertain consumer needs, convert them into ideas, products of services and move such ideas to the final consumer or user to satisfy certain needs and wants of specific consumer segment with emphasis on profitability, ensuring the optimum use of the resources available to the organization.
  Marketing:
1)Focuses on customer needs.
2)Customer enjoys supreme importance.
3)Emphasis is on product planning and development to match products with markets.
4)Resorts to integrated approach to achieve long -term goals.
5)Aims at converting customer’s needs into want of product.
6)Holds the principle of “caveat vendor” i.e. let the seller beware (alert).
7)Stress profits through customers satisfaction.
8)Customer oriented.
9)After- sales- service concept.
10)Selling refrigerator to an Eskimo is not appreciated. Selling:
1)Focuses on seller’s needs
2)Product enjoys supreme importance.
3)Emphasis is on high pressure selling to sell goods already produced.
4)Resorts to fragmented approach to achieve immediate gains.
5)Aims at converting product into cash.
6)Holds the principle of ” caveat emptor” i.e. let the buyer beware.
7)Stress profits through sales volume.
8)Production oriented.
9)Ends up with the transfer of ownership of goods/service to buyer.
10)Selling refrigerator to an Eskimo is highly appreciated!

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