Marketing vs. Advertising – Internet Marketing

Share | | By: Marcio Rocon | Date posted: Thursday, May 6th, 2010

You will often find confuse about the two components, the Marketing and Advertising. Do you know the differences between the two? Or you are one of the people that are often confuse about these two? Start yourself now! Advertising is a form of communicating with the purpose of influenzing people (viewers, readers, or listeners). It consists the name of the product or service on how the consumer could benefit from it. Advertising could also be the way of persuading people so that consumers will be attracted to the product or to consume that particular brand.

It can also serve to communicate an idea to a mass amount of people in an attempt to convince them to take a certain action, such as encouraging ‘environmentally friendly’ behavior. Marketing is the process wherein companies determine what products or services may be of interest to costumers, and the style to use in sales, communications and business development. It is also used to identify the consumer, to keep the customer, and to satisfy the customer. It is the systematic planning, implementing and controlling combined business activities with the purpose of bringing together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

Market information should also consists anything you that is necessary to know so that you can formulate strategy and make business decisions. Information is available in the form of statistical economic and demographic data from libraries, research companies and professional associations (the Institute of Directors is excellent if you are a member). This is called secondary research and will require some interpretation or manipulation for your own purposes.

Additionally you can carry out your own research through customer feed-back, surveys, questionnaires and focus groups (obtaining indicators to wider views through discussion among a few representative people in a controlled situation). This is called primary research, and is tailored to your precise needs. It requires less manipulation, but all types of research need careful analysis. Be careful when extrapolating or projecting. If the starting point is inaccurate the resulting analysis will not be reliable. The main elements you typically need to understand and quantify are:

customer profile and mix
product mix
demographic issues and trends
future regulatory and legal effects
prices and values, and customer perceptions in these areas
competitor activities
competitor strengths and weaknesses
customer service perceptions, priorities and needs

Advertising is bringing a product or service into a full circle of attention of potential and current customers. It is mainly focused on one particular product or service. Hence, an advertising plan for one product might be very different than that for another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, commercials, brochures, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc.

Marketing is a vast range of activities involved in coping up that you’re continuing to meet the needs of your customers and getting value in return. Marketing is usually focused on one product or service. Thus, a marketing plan for one product might be very different than that for another product. Marketing activities include "inbound marketing," such as market research to find out, for example, what groups of potential customers exist, what their needs are, which of those needs you can meet, how you should meet them, etc.

Inbound marketing also includes analyzing the competition, positioning your new product or service (finding your market niche), and pricing your products and services. "Outbound marketing" includes promoting a product through continued advertising, promotions, public relations and sales. This is how the two components differ the marketing and advertising.