Marketing AND Sales = People AND Women

What is marketing? Marketing is probably one of the most confusing and misused (or rather abused) words in business. Many people think that marketing is a synonym for sales (or selling). Many sales people  (representatives or reps) are now called marketing representatives. Unfortunately the term sales representative has a negative connotation. This is probably due to the fact that in the past (and also in the present) sales representatives were often people that couldn’t find another job and were unscrupulous; they would sell at any cost. This is because their salary depended heavily on sales commission. The more they sold, the higher their income would be. This would lead to “hard” selling and even lying (about what the product could do and also the guarantees made to the customer). Many customers would buy products that were “forced” onto them, products that did not satisfy their need/s and that they could not afford.

Selling is one of the most important functions in a business. It is the ONLY function that generates money for the company, whilst all other functions spend money. Obviously all functions in a business are crucial and critical for success and therefore support the money generation function of sales. Selling is NOT a synonym for marketing, but is a PART of marketing. Therefor: If you hear someone talking about “Marketing AND Sales” it is the same as saying: “People AND Women”

The main focus of sales is: Maximum sales over the short term. Sales are chasing the maximum number of units sold. Companies that focus mainly on sales are said to be sales oriented. They are more interested in short-term sales, than in satisfying consumer needs.

The main focus of marketing is: Maximum profits in the long run. Marketing aims to maximize profit (not sales) in the long run. The only way to ensure this is to supply a product that satisfies a need, to sell it at a market-related price and to adapt your product over time to keep up with the consumer’s changing demands.  Companies that focus mainly on marketing are said to be marketing oriented. They are more interested in long term profit, than in short term sales.

Is your company sales or marketing oriented?