Selling's the act, Marketing's the understanding
'Works as always a complete no brainer exercise.
Sadly extremely different from all the theory I learned (or rather I believed I learned )'.
That's someone responding to me asking, 'How's work'?
I can believe there are a lot of people out there slaving over stuff at work that's a no-brainer. But I can also believe that the mass out there is so caught up with what they do, they miss out on the larger context within which they do what they do. That is, they miss the larger operational/organisational picture. They just do what they do. And they have no idea why they do what they do. They never try and find out or even think about it. And of course, no one's ever told them.
Welcome to your life in a business firm!
A Marketing simile would be sales. And we experience this all the time. The sales person is so focused on selling he misses out on the larger context within which sales happen. That is, the customer and his needs. Just like jobs are not just about doing but also about why its being done, sales is not just about selling, its about understanding consumer needs.
For people to find meaning in their work they must probe into the larger activity within which they do a certain part, that is their job. Similarly, for sales to happen, marketers must probe into the dynamics of needs and their expressions, as dictated by the consumer. A job is the doing part, a business process understanding is what bestows on it, value. Sales is the trade part, Marketing is what legitimises it as a critical activity in the understanding and deliverance of value to consumers.
Sadly extremely different from all the theory I learned (or rather I believed I learned )'.
That's someone responding to me asking, 'How's work'?
I can believe there are a lot of people out there slaving over stuff at work that's a no-brainer. But I can also believe that the mass out there is so caught up with what they do, they miss out on the larger context within which they do what they do. That is, they miss the larger operational/organisational picture. They just do what they do. And they have no idea why they do what they do. They never try and find out or even think about it. And of course, no one's ever told them.
Welcome to your life in a business firm!
A Marketing simile would be sales. And we experience this all the time. The sales person is so focused on selling he misses out on the larger context within which sales happen. That is, the customer and his needs. Just like jobs are not just about doing but also about why its being done, sales is not just about selling, its about understanding consumer needs.
For people to find meaning in their work they must probe into the larger activity within which they do a certain part, that is their job. Similarly, for sales to happen, marketers must probe into the dynamics of needs and their expressions, as dictated by the consumer. A job is the doing part, a business process understanding is what bestows on it, value. Sales is the trade part, Marketing is what legitimises it as a critical activity in the understanding and deliverance of value to consumers.
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