Marketing refers to the act an organization undertakes in order to engage its potential consumer base, develop brand equity to generate competitive advantage, and acquire and maintain loyalty to customers so as to obtain more profit in return for their business. Today, marketing is considered to be one of the most influential elements of the corporate and business world. The term “marketing” is derived from two Greek words, which mean “to advertise” and “to supply”. Marketing therefore, is a combination of creative efforts with the objective of generating customer demand and establishing a visible presence in the marketplace. The objective of marketing is often referred to as the public’s awareness of products and services offered by a company.

The principles underlying marketing management are designed to enhance the product or service quality, maximize sales, foster customer loyalty, and influence the purchasing behavior of the buying public. When marketing is applied successfully, it provides a significant competitive advantage to a company over its competitors. The techniques of marketing management are influenced by a number of different factors, including tradition, society, advertising objectives, organizational management style, and profitability. Marketing principles aim to enhance sales, minimize product or service differentiation, create awareness, and attract new customers. The concept of social marketing has been incorporated into many marketing management practices to improve the reach and impact of marketing programs.

Marketing management aims to satisfy the needs of the customer by making the product concept as accessible as possible while fulfilling all the necessary functional requirements. One of the biggest problems that face organizations today is the problem of selling to the wrong audience. This marketing myopia refers to the general tendency to market a product concept to a limited segment of the population – typically, a restricted geographical area. A common example of this would be to sell a new digital camera to young teenage boys rather than middle-aged, professional men.