Unit 14 Course Materials

In Unit 14: Introduction to Marketing we will explore the Marketing function and learn why marketing is so important for organizations. We will interpret Marketing as a tool used by companies, organizations, and people to shape our perceptions and persuade us to change our behavior. We will discuss what makes for effective versus ineffective marketing, how organizations cater their message to different audiences, and how far beyond television ads and billboards Marketing reaches in our modern society.

What does the term marketing mean to you? Many people think marketing means personal selling. Others think it means advertising or say that marketing has to do with making products available in stores, arranging displays, and maintaining inventories of products for future sales. Actually, marketing includes all of these activities and more.

Marketing has two facets. First, it is a philosophy, an attitude, a perspective, or a management orientation that stresses customer satisfaction. Second, marketing is an organization function and a set of processes used to implement this philosophy.

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

  • Define marketing
  • Identify evidence of marketing in everyday life
  • Demonstrate a clear understanding of the marketing concept
  • Describe the role of marketing in building and managing customer relationships
  • Describe how different types of organizations, such as non-profits, consumer product (B2C) firms and business-to-business (B2B) organizations, use marketing
  • Explain how marketing creates value for the consumer, the company, and society

In order to successfully complete this unit, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Read this Open Educational Resource (free to access): Module 1: What is Marketing?¹

2. Watch this Introduction to Marketing video on YouTube (embedded below)2

As always, if you need more information, you can ask me a question. For information on due dates, check our Course Schedule.

Sources:

1Why It Matters: Role of Business. Authored by: Linda Williams and Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

2Study.com on YouTube: Introduction to Marketing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xz5Kv-7VY