Marketing is scintillating!

"What is Marketing?"; "How does it work?". These two are the most common questions arising in the minds of MBA students, general public and even some business professionals. Everyone understands what Finance relates to or HRM relates to but when it comes to marketing only a few 'would be' tycoons and companies can make a demarcation. I am an MBA, specialized in Marketing, so I take this privilege of writing this piece with a combination of my experience at work and my perception. 

I would describe Marketing as the art of presenting your product with the utmost delicate garnishing so that your prospective buyer is taken aback and gets curious to know more. Thereafter, it is the expertise in getting the ingredients correct and giving the buyer an unforgettable experience. If I may draw a parallel, the experience should be at par with 'devouring a black forest with light chocolate chips and hot chocolate sauce over it'! No marketing activity can be successful until you can address the need of the mass and definitely exceed it.

What is it that goes into making a good marketer? A degree? Or conceptualization? Considering today's corporate world it takes both. You need a professional degree so that your resume gets you an interview. The sustenance of your job is what matters. It involves your ability to visualize an idea, conceptualize and finally present. The foremost responsibility of any marketer, is to love the idea or his product. Unless there is love and attraction for your work/product it might get messy. The next is the complete knowledge about your product, all the necessary know-hows, otherwise you can end up in deep soup. I have ended up making a fool out of myself and messing up things only because I did not have complete knowledge about what I was marketing. Then the knowledge about the target market. Gosh this can be dangerous!. It may so happen that your product caters to the need of the youth but after initial marketing and launch you get only middle aged males as your buyers. Wait a second! Here is where coherence of needs, advertisement or promotion and launch comes into play. Thus, research and consumer surveys play such a significant role. You need to get your ground work done and build a strong foundation.

Selling and Marketing are two different things. Marketing is the art of making a service or product salable. Selling is the art of convincing your prospective buyer to invest in it, that is, pay for it. Marketing is carried on to sell a product. It is like Salsa. If the partners don't have the perfect balance and grip, it Fails. When you roll in Salsa, your partner needs to have his grip so you can be fearless in letting loose. 

I sometimes think of Marketing as a sensuous lady. You just need to touch the right chords and she will dance to your tune.