Formal Definitions of Marketing
The American Marketing Association describes marketing as an institutional responsibility and a series of procedures for developing, presenting, and distributing value to customers and maintaining customer interactions to promote the firm and its stakeholders. Promoting, selling, and transporting merchandise to clients or other enterprises are all marketing examples. Affiliates perform some marketing on account of a brand. Professionals in a company’s marketing and advertising department use publicity to attract the attention of identified potential consumers (Baines et al., 2017). Celebrity sponsorships, attractive phrases or slogans, distinctive packaging or visual designs, and total media coverage are all examples of targeted promotions.
The Association of National Advertisers defines marketing as advertisements, pamphlets, catalogs, and other promotional materials planned and meant to enhance the sale of licensed products and are posted and shared with consumers. In addition, it comprises point-of-purchase displays for merchants and marketing and promotional materials delivered to shops for use in consumer sales promotions (Kay et al., 2019). Writing gratitude notes, playing golf with potential customers, promptly responding to emails and phone calls, and meeting with clientele during coffee or a meal are examples of networking with future or past clients. At its most basic form, marketing aims to connect an organization’s commodities and services with people who desire to use them.
Own Synthesis of Marketing
Marketing is the practice of developing, conveying, distributing, and exchanging value-added offerings for consumers, clients, associates, and society uses the information to connect the buyer and potential clients to the seller. Utilizing the data can recognize and characterize marketing possibilities and challenges and create, develop, and assess marketing actions. Using the information can track marketing performance and better understand marketing as an operation.
Marketing allows the spread of information about a specific brand, commodity, or service to as many individuals as possible to increase product recognition and purchases. It is critical to establish marketing targets for any businessperson to meet their objectives. There are several goals to focus on, including building a brand image. Informing customers about merchandise or brand policy modifications is vital for successful marketing (Konovalova, 2019). Notifying customers aids in the description of product characteristics and specifics. Marketing is crucial in demonstrating superiority over competitors. As a result, to survive in the competitive climate, entrepreneurs must employ a long-term advertising strategy.
The advertising form of marketing teaches potential customers about the value of the outcomes they can get by adopting the products or services. Moreover, it refers to informing the customers on a specific topic or industry to help them make a purchasing choice. Educational marketing is a manner of handling the content advertising strategy, specifically through the development of material that will help direct clients further down the marketing funnel, focusing on teaching about the service instead of pressing for a sale (Manea & Purcaru, 2017). Rather than pitching the audience on the spot, marketing enables businesses to provide knowledge that might help them build a stronger connection and understanding with the intended audience.
In addition, marketing creates a desire among clients to purchase the entrepreneur’s commodities. This succeeds because informational messages can improve the possibility of individuals making a transaction by a significant amount. Performing marketing techniques such as direct selling, advertisement, and others correctly increases demand for the product, converting potential consumers into paying customers (Deepak & Jeyakumar, 2019). People in business risk losing funds if they do not have a thorough plan for promoting their product.
References
Baines, Paul, Fill, Chris, & Rosengren, Sara. 2017. Marketing. Oxford University Press.
Deepak, Kanthiah, Alias, & Jeyakumar, S. 2019. Marketing management. Orange Books Publication.
Kay, Samantha, Mulcahy, Rory, & Parkinson, Joy. 2019. When less is more: The impact of macro and micro social media influencers’ disclosure. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(3-4), 248-278.
Konovalova, Anna. 2019. What is promotional marketing? Learn Hub. Web.
Manea, Natalia, & Purcaru, Mihaela. 2017. The evolution of educational marketing. Annals of Spiru Haret University Economic, 17(4), 37.
Discussion: Breastfeeding And Formula Feeding
The advantages of breastfeeding over formula feeding still represent a popular research topic. Guzzardi et al. (2020) studied the intellectual development of eighty infants to explore connections between the type of nutrition and developmental patterns later in life. Within the frame of data analysis, the researchers drew comparisons between exclusive breastfeeding (EB) and receiving any amount of infant formula. Their conclusions demonstrated a steady positive link between EB, especially in the first twelve weeks of life, and female children’s cognitive development. Specifically, girls in the EB group outperformed their female and male non-EB counterparts in hearing and language development functions at the age of five (Guzzardi et al., 2020). Interestingly, the feeding mode’s positive effect remained significant regardless of the mother’s intelligence level, anthropometric characteristics, and age when giving birth (Guzzardi et al., 2020). With that in mind, the key message is that the mother’s refusal to use any substitutes for breast milk early in the child’s life is conducive to healthy intellectual development, especially in girls.
The pros and cons of the two infant feeding options require consideration. In terms of its advantages for health, breastfeeding protects infants from abnormal weight gain and metabolic irregularities as they grow older (Guzzardi et al., 2020). Moreover, breastfeeding does not require food expenses and is natural, which means that breast milk’s temperature is always the best for the infant. Its disadvantages primarily refer to the mother’s discomfort, nipple soreness, injuries from biting, and the need for dietary limitations (Guzzardi et al., 2020). As for the pros, formula feeding eliminates injurious incidents affecting the woman’s health, offers convenience and flexibility, and is helpful for women with milk production issues. The disadvantages are health-related as formula feeding is not protective against infections, BMI and metabolic issues, and cognitive challenges (Guzzardi et al., 2020). New mothers should consider the options’ effects to make the right choices in their situations.
Reference
Guzzardi, M. A., Granziera, F., Sanguinetti, E., Ditaranto, F., Muratori, F., & Iozzo, P. (2020). Exclusive breastfeeding predicts higher hearing-language development in girls of preschool age. Nutrients, 12(8), 1-12.
Traditional Communities In Rural Areas
As societies grow, so do their traditions, or, at least, that is what people think. Yet, old habits die hard, as people can discover once they visit one of such places. By traveling through rural areas, one can stumble into small towns, seemingly forgotten at some point in the history of humanity. This traditional community would blend perfectly with the atmosphere of the past century, as people kept their ways unchanged for generations. There were modern agricultural tools employed in their daily tasks, yet not many adults could be seen using other common appliances regularly.
It is no wonder that many older people were residing in the majority of remaining houses, although their well-maintained facades clearly showed that these townsfolk were hard-working individuals. There were a few younger adults left in this area since many preferred to pursue their luck in bigger settlements. After all, it is challenging not to fall for the alluring sights of bustling cities. Nonetheless, those who stayed were well-accustomed to the slow-paced life of a small community located among sunlit plains.
If one were to reside in the nearby motel, they would be asked to turn their phone off if they decide to resupply, as per local customs. Not many visitors were traveling past this location in the middle of nowhere, although there was no lousy reputation sticking to it. However, those staying in this town during the late spring would be forced to leave once the summer is about to arrive. As the traditional societies started to disintegrate, it was understandable that folks were wary of strangers who could influence their youth to leave the rural areas for promises of the outside world.
The reason behind this strange rule was the celebration in early June, which some may count as archaic if they were outsiders. However, for locals, it was the time they could remember their roots, honor their ancestors, and socialize with neighbors. Some townspeople even argued that those few communities who still follow this tradition are the true Americans who believe in the core values of society, while city dwellers have lost their culture by forgetting it. Some residents even considered contacting other towns that still share their lifestyle in hopes of finding a way to reignite people’s passion for their roots and spread this festive tradition across the country again.
At first glance, the celebration held no particular connotation. It was just a way for people to take their minds off of an otherwise dull, monotonous lifestyle. It was not grand by any modern standard, but it gave comfort to those who gathered, as through their memories and prayers, people remembered the days of old with warmth and melancholy. Younger community members who did not experience the days their grandparents described as majestic could receive more than enough knowledge of the past from secondary sources. These tales filled people with wonder and longing for a place they had never been.
As usual, no modern appliance was used during this celebratory occasion, as it distracted people from the real reasons for this meeting, which is to keep the traditions of their ancestors alive. On one of such celebratory occasions, people were drawn to the community center in hopes of finding a new inspiration that would help them to push past the challenging year ahead. Small chatter was typical among the crowd, as people spoke about their daily chores and relationships, and only a few ever mentioned the ongoing festivities. Many of those gathered at the community center were merely waiting for the annual lottery to begin, as skipping such an occurrence was considered disrespectful to others. Children, who were officially involved in its preparations, have already finished collecting rubble from the vicinity and followed their parents.
Once the main event was about to be performed, the noise of the crowd ceased almost instantaneously. Youth who were brought to the location in order to experience a true sense of community remained in front of the public, still murmuring among themselves. They seemed excited to be a part of their community, while their parents stood behind, nervously shuffling as they waited for the town council to bring the newly minted metal black box specifically for the occasion. It resembled a ballot box that was used before it got too damaged, with a hefty lock placed upon its top side, although no votes were going to be cast. As the case appeared on the stage of the main hall, officials began the monotonous speech that they wrote for the occasion a few years ago, thanking everyone for their time and participation in the annual lottery.
After the introduction, townsfolk began to come one by one and pull a ticket from the container once they were named. The process did not take long, as the winner was quickly decided among the first fifteen participants. Surprisingly, sighs of relief were heard among the crowd, with only a few protests regarding the fairness of the event. Yet, the people proceeded with the celebration, leading the winner to their supposed award just outside of the community center. A couple of neatly stacked piles of rubble were lying outside long enough, awaiting their turn. Locals just had to ensure that no strangers were ever involved in their lottery. Otherwise, those who do not share the sense of community would surely ruin everything.