Is Marketing all about selling?

Their has been lot of confusion in the minds of individuals as well as organizations when it comes to hiring marketing professionals. "Marketing professionals are not direct sales personnel, they assist sales indirectly". Marketing begins much before the actual product is out for sale and continues even after the goods have been sold. Selling helps in generating revenues for business to meet up it expenses but the importance of marketing should not be sidelined, as its continuous process but people remember it only at times of crises.

A good once sold in market can't guarantee to sustain and retain its customer base in the long run, with no change in it. Its the marketing professional who come out with new and innovate marketing strategy to be ahead of their competitors. Customers today get carried away by those with which they are able to relate themselves with. Selling just focuses on get things sold out in market but marketing focus on developing product to be sold in market.

Best example of it - When diary milk came out with the ad campaign " Aaj pehli tariq hain" meaning you can have diary milk on 1st of every month when you get salary. Munch came out with new add to stating " you can have munch any day of the month not only on 1st".

Both "diary milk" & "munch" have hold in market but then also they keep fighting with each other to enter into others territory. They do such marketing campaign to create a goodwill for their product in market which will ultimately effect their sales. "At the end customer buys those things which see more frequently & keep hearing about it". Why do companies forget this fact?

Such notion have led to lot of confusion among MBA students which way to go "marketing or sales". They can't differentiate between sales / marketing and land into wrong job profiles. Then prefer to stick to it as a performer but an achiever. Very few people have the courage to change the profile when they know their track is wrong.

So next time when you hear about "marketing /sales" be clear about its meaning and reach...