The Definition....

Marketing is diverse. It has an ability to transcend a very wide scope of concepts, theories, and strategies that can go way above and beyond the typical exchange as the consumer knows it to be.  Marketing can include interactions between businesses and consumers, businesses and businesses.  The entire concept houses consumer concerns, stakeholder concerns, evolution, strategic decisions, pricing, market penetration,

metrics, discounts, accounting, promotions, demographics, social media, etc...  I could go on and on with each of the different sectors and subsets that are within marketing and related to marketing.

The overall concept of marketing is described by some as a mechanism, a process, or methodology. Some marketers look at marketing as if it were a social process. I tend to look at it more as a socialization process.  Dictionary.com gives the term of socialization this definition:  "a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position."  You may be thinking something entirely different about the word of socialization in relationship to marketing.  But, if we look at the basis behind marketing and socialization, the fundamental concept is the same; it is primarily a process of familiarization. It is also a way of meeting, pacifying, and satisfying needs of the people and/or marketplace. But before we meet the needs of the marketplace, the potential purchaser needs to familiarize themselves with the product, the benefits of, and its uses/application. It is during the process of familiarization that socialization is applied.

Considering I would be explaining this to my boss, who is the owner of a company that specializes in the plastic extrusions industry, I would probably not be able to get away with avant-garde language, -isms, or creative terminology. Our product is redundant and somewhat limited by way of comparison to large corporations like Proctor and Gamble or General Electric.  (Plus, for some reason, I see him with more of a polyethylene type with the symbols of PVC and high-density polyethylene running around his head rather than marketing strategy.)  I could simply say to my boss that marketing is everything the company does to connect us to the outside world. I could say that it includes the combination of the company logo, our business card design, and our quality product.  I could use the words of Jay Conrad Levinson and say that marketing is "the art of getting people to change their minds -- or to maintain their mindset if there are already inclined do business with you." (Levinson, 2012)  In all reality, I would be correct with the use of any of the statements. But, in a nutshell, marketing can be described as an activity that results with making various products available to satisfy consumers while maximizing profits for the businesses that produce/offer those products.

To actually explain marketing to a non-marketer can be difficult. I personally think that it is dependent upon the context as well as the product that is going to be marketed. But from the macro perspective, perhaps the best definition that could relay the entire meaning of marketing is stated as, "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 goals." (Obringer, 2011)  I stole that..no, ummmm, wait, I used that quote because early in the session, I found the article in research and it just stuck with me.  Granted, it is not in my own words, but I think that I am going to memorize this quote.  It is comprehensive and quite telling of what marketing is without having to into a dissertation of what marketing is comprised of (and it keeps it simple enough and in layman’s terms for anyone to understand…including my boss)

Levinson, Jay. "Jay Conrad Levinsion on New Guerrilla 2.0 Marketing Concepts." onpurposemagazine.com. N.p. 12 Sept 2012. Web 15 June 2013. http://onpurposemagazine.com/2012/09/12/jay-conrad-levinson-on-new-guerrilla-2-0-marketing-concepts/

Obringer, LeeAnn. “How Marketing Plans Work.” How Stuff Works. 2011. Web. 15 June 2013. http://money.howstuffworks.com/marketing-plan4.htm.