The AMA’s approved definition of Marketing is as follows: Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
But we believe it’s much more than that. Here’s our definition: Marketing is the act of engaging brand believers by earning trust through honest communications that convey genuine product/service attributes, which undeniably benefits the customers the product/service was created for.
Here’s the difference. Marketing is about relationships and relationships are built on trust. If you deliver exactly what you claim—and then some—to customers who need what you offer, then you will be rewarded with loyalty. Loyalty lasts a lifetime, but only if it’s nurtured and maintained properly.
Offerings are meaningless if they aren’t coming from a place of integrity. The biggest marketing budgets and the best creative in the world are wasted if the product or service doesn’t deliver.
The bottom line is this: The Soul of Marketing is the client. As marketers, it’s our job to vet their industry and determine the most valuable advantages their product or service will deliver for the betterment of its customers, then tell that story in a believable way. It’s up to the client to make sure that story is the real truth, and nothing but.