What is marketing? The core concepts explained

Marketing is a HOT career in today's technology era. So What is Marketing, what jobs can you do with a marketing degree? Let's Mona Media answer these questions together and look at the marketing career in detail in the article below.

Marketing was first applied mainly to businesses making consumer goods. Over time it has spread to almost every business that makes products, provides services or trades.

What is a marketer? What does a marketing employee do?

Marketing is now a field of study many people are interested in. It offers plenty of job opportunities and interesting challenges for energetic young people. So what is a marketer, and what does a marketing employee do?

What is a marketer?

In general, marketers are the people who work in marketing. They research and analyze the market and set strategies to bring products and services to potential customers.

What does a marketing employee do?

A marketing employee is the person who carries out the plans set by the marketing department. The shared goal is to make the promotion of the company's products, services and image run more smoothly and effectively.

In general, they have to do these tasks well:

• Research the market and find suitable market segments.
• Position the brand.
• Come up with creative promotion strategies that show the brand at its best to customers.
• Plan the best marketing campaigns and run promotions to market products.
• Plan the budget.
• Measure performance.

-> Read more about The 14 Most Effective Marketing Models for Businesses

What is the marketing field?

To explain what marketing is: the marketing field is quite broad, but it falls into two main types, traditional marketing and modern marketing. In detail:

traditional marketing

It is called traditional marketing because the message is not delivered through digital means. This kind of marketing also focuses less on the customer and more on how to sell the company's products and services quickly.

Basically, traditional marketing is the older marketing model, with two main features:

• Marketing through traditional sales channels, such as promoting products via newspapers, radio, flyers, word of mouth and telemarketing.
• The business makes goods first and then markets them, focusing on distribution and sales.

-> See an overview of the comparison between traditional marketing and digital marketing

Modern marketing

Modern marketing differs in that it pays attention to all customer behavior and needs. The customer is the key factor that decides whether a marketing strategy succeeds and brings the company profit. Modern marketing differs from traditional marketing in many ways. It promotes products and services through social media, website, blog, livetream, youtube, email…

In general, modern marketing is well regarded today because it is more personalized. That lets a brand run the advertising strategy that suits each customer segment best. With a customer-first mindset, modern marketing focuses on each customer's insight and sends them products and services that fit their needs.

What role does marketing play in a business?

Besides asking what marketing is, many people wonder about its role in a business. The benefits marketing brings to a business include:

Marketing gets information to customers

Marketing gives customers information about the products and services the company offers. Marketers need to know the product well and give customers the most accurate information about their products and services.

In other words, the marketing team knows the product well and passes on the details to customers so they can decide whether to buy. Beyond general product information, marketing staff also need to tell customers about the added benefits, to raise the share of customers who want to buy.

-> Learn about 10 How zero-cost marketing delivers strong results

Evening out the competitive advantage between small and large businesses

Today's modern marketing methods help businesses save a lot on advertising while still getting the best results. With the right marketing strategy, small businesses also get a chance to compete with larger ones in their industry.

Small businesses also have the advantage of more time to look after each customer's experience across marketing platforms such as social media, email and websites. This kind of 1:1 interaction and marketing is especially effective at attracting customers and raising their goodwill toward the business.

Helps a business keep up relationships with customers

Here is another answer to "What is marketing?" Marketing is the best way to connect a business with its customers and keep the relationship going. Marketing strategies build customers' trust and help the business earn good reviews for its products.

Marketing is what keeps a business visible in customers' eyes. It delivers the brand's latest information to customers through media channels to keep a long-term relationship going, and in time turns users into loyal customers of the brand.

Helps a business interact with customers continuously

With today's marketing methods, a business can interact with customers anytime, anywhere. Besides direct contact, it can reach customers indirectly through different channels.

Helps the business build and grow its brand

Building and growing a brand is very important for every business. When a brand is promoted widely to customers, more of them buy, and the business earns more revenue.

Marketing helps a business build and grow its brand in a complete way. It brings the brand closer to consumers and builds trust with potential customers. Then even if your product is priced higher than the market, a strong brand value means customers can still trust and choose your brand.

-> Read more: Marketing performance metrics every business should know

Helps a business increase sales

The biggest goal of every business is to raise profit and brand value. Besides having a good product or service, knowing how to promote the brand is the best way to grow sales effectively.

Marketing activities help a business optimize its profit. In today's technology era, a good product is not enough. A business needs to promote it with suitable marketing methods so potential customers get to know it and sales grow effectively.

Marketing is not only a promotion tool. It also reflects a business's way of thinking. In Vietnam, though, business and marketing are sometimes given negative labels like 'tricks' or 'gimmicks', which makes many people hesitant to talk about them. The video below will help you understand business thinking better, clear away those mental barriers and approach marketing in a more practical, effective way.

The most common types of marketing

Many people ask what areas marketing covers. Depending on the products and services a business offers, different forms of marketing will fit. The ones that work best today include the following.

Inbound Marketing

What is inbound marketing? It is a fairly new term in Vietnam. In short, inbound marketing focuses on attracting the right customers without pestering them. It creates experiences that are useful to potential customers and leaves them with a good impression.

-> A full rundown of Inbound Marketing you should know

Outbound Marketing

What is outbound marketing? It means promoting through newspapers, TV, phone calls and email. It is still very common, but it is usually sent out to everyone, with little attention to who the target customers are.

Traditional Marketing

What is traditional marketing? It is the classic way of promoting a brand, mainly through direct contact with customers. Channels such as newspapers, TV advertising and billboards also belong here.

Digital Marketing

Many people are curious about What is Digital Marketing? It brings a lot of benefits in the digital age. It helps a business reach its target customers faster and raises profit noticeably.

What is digital marketing? Unlike traditional marketing, it makes full use of modern technology to save time reaching users and to get more of them to convert into buyers.

SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engines. Used properly, SEO services lift your rankings in search results and widen your brand's reach. Over the long run, SEO delivers better and more lasting results than many other marketing methods.

These days, many marketers use keyword SEO services to attract target customers, by researching keywords that match what insight users. SEO creates a source of traffic that comes from search, and it raises the share of visits that turn into orders.

If you need SEO services, website optimization services, or website design take a look at MONA Media. We are a leading agency in SEO and website work.

Blog Marketing

What is blog marketing? Many businesses use blogs because they cost little to run and keep paying off over time. It is also a sensible choice for small businesses that want to make the most of a limited budget.

Content Marketing

What is content marketing? Content marketing is one of the most important forms of marketing built on content. It covers creating content, publishing it and promoting it to potential customers. Customers can find information about the products and services they are interested in on a company's website or blog.

Social media content is also highly valued today. Marketers create content on social platforms to promote the brand and its products to customers. The best-known platforms include TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

-> See also: What is a marketing funnel? How to build a marketing funnel for your business

Social Marketing

What is social marketing? It builds a lasting connection between customers and a business. By using today's popular social networks, a business gains another channel for reaching its target customers more often and over a longer period.

Print Marketing

Print marketing means promoting through newspapers and printed materials. This traditional method is not rated very highly today, but it is still one of the best-known approaches.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM is a form of marketing that puts your business in front of people on search engines, by placing links to your website.

In general, this type of marketing is quite different from SEO. You pay the search engine to place your business's links on websites. The goal is to widen your reach to customers, grow your market and increase revenue over time.

Affiliate Marketing

What is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is a way of selling products through online distribution channels. The affiliate is paid by the supplier whenever a customer buys a product they recommended. The supplier provides a referral code, and the affiliate uses marketing tools to bring the product to potential customers.

To make a profit from affiliate marketing, you need to pick good products that are on trend, or products from reputable brands. Affiliate channels you can use include Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and others.

-> See more How to make money online with affiliate marketing

Trade Marketing

Trade Marketing explained: trade marketing is a way of promoting a brand through activities such as running events and building product and brand strategy for a business's distribution channels. In other words, trade marketing turns promotional activities into commercial ones. You invest money in these activities and earn that investment back in the market.

Trade marketing and event marketing have quite a lot in common. The difference is that trade marketing deals with activities aimed at buyers, such as product promotions and discounts, while event marketing mainly focuses on organizing events to promote the brand.

Influencer Marketing

What is influencer marketing? It means marketing through well-known people. A business taps into communities on social media and uses famous people to promote its products to the customers it wants to reach.

Influencer marketing suits businesses with a large budget. It lets a business promote its products and services through people with a voice in the community, and it can bring in a lot of profit.

Video Marketing

What is video marketing? This method is quite similar to social marketing. In practice, though, many businesses rate video marketing higher because it attracts potential customers and brings a high conversion rate.

Word of Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth marketing is a trustworthy and effective form of promotion by recommendation. When a customer recommends your product to others of their own accord, it builds the highest level of trust and helps you win new buyers.

To get more customers spreading the word about your brand, focus on improving the quality of your products and services and on looking after customers well. Meet what they ask for and expect, so they become loyal customers who bring you many more potential customers.

Event Marketing

Event marketing is when a business holds events to reach customers and build its brand, creating an emotional connection with them. These events are usually organized by the company's marketing team and weave in promotion of the brand, products and services.

Marketing events can be held in person or online, depending on the business. They are run by staff who specialize in event organization. Businesses tend to choose events such as trade fairs, concerts, customer appreciation programs and sports events, which let them promote their products and services to customers.

Email Marketing

What is Email Marketing? This is an excellent way for a business to reach its target audience by email. It is widely used to introduce the latest products and promotions to customers.

Yet many business owners still believe this: "Can you sell without spending money on marketing?" Hung, CEO of The MONA, has lived through both stages, with NO marketing and with marketing know-how, and he considers this A WRONG WAY OF THINKING. In reality, a business that wants to survive and grow has to learn to market itself properly. To hear why Hung says this so firmly, watch the video below.

Marketing mix strategy and the 4Ps

What is the marketing mix? What are the marketing mix and the 4Ps? The 4Ps are a well-known concept in marketing. Also called the marketing mix, it combines several elements, including the 4Ps and 7P. Here is how the strategy works.

Product

First, decide what you want to sell and whether your company's product is a physical good or a service. To get clear on what you are selling, answer these questions.

• What is the business's main product?
• Can you extend it with supporting product lines?
• How will the product be packaged?
• Where will the business distribute the product?
• What are the warranty policy and the return conditions?

Pricing

Once you know exactly what you are selling, set the selling price. The price you take to market depends on several factors, such as general market prices, production cost and brand value.

These are the questions to ask when setting a specific price.

• What do competitors charge for similar products in the same segment?
• When will discounts apply, and how?
• How will customers pay for the product?
• Which flexible payment options are available?

Here are some pricing strategies to consider.

• High-price strategy: you price above the going market rate for similar products. Your product targets a premium group of customers who care more about quality and the company's reputation than about cost. You only need to concentrate on making a high-quality or unique product for these customers.
• Low-price strategy: pricing below the market average means a lower margin on each product, but it makes the product more competitive against rivals. If you price below the market, you need to make good use of your production capacity, cut costs and run marketing that suits your target users.

Promotion

Promotion is the step that brings your products and services closer to consumers. It is one of the most important steps in the marketing mix. Choosing the right promotion channels builds customer trust and raises the share of potential customers who go on to buy. To approach customers with skill, you need a positive impression of your brand and a clear grasp of the strengths of what you offer.

To do promotion well, answer these questions.

• Which channels will the business use to promote its products?
• How well do those channels perform?
• What message do you want to get across?

Place

The next step is to know where customers will buy. Choose where to distribute your product so it fits what customers need. To have the product sold in the right place at the right time, ask yourself these questions.

• What are the pros and cons of selling through this distribution channel ?
• Where exactly can customers buy the product?
• Do you sell directly to customers or through agents?
• Will you sell through social media, in a store or by mail?
• Is your point of sale convenient for your potential customers?

Whether you are new to business or already experienced in your field, it pays to think carefully about how you distribute, so you win more orders and grow your market. Try to choose a business location and point of sale that is stable and convenient for the customers you want to reach.

What jobs can you do with a marketing degree?

Besides "What is marketing?", many young people ask what kind of career marketing is and what jobs it leads to when choosing a major. In practice, marketing graduates can work in roles such as these.

Advertising

Most marketing graduates go to work for advertising agencies. It is a promising field with plenty of openings and fairly high pay, well suited to people who like an energetic, creative environment.

Public Relations

PR means creating a communications strategy that builds lasting relationships between a business and its customers. Public relations also brings a brand closer to its target customers through content that is high quality, inspiring, useful and honest. Done properly, PR also gives customers a warmer, more positive view of a company's products and services.

Marketing students can work at companies in public relations. This field calls for good communication skills and a feel for customer psychology.

Customer service

Marketing graduates can work in customer service. It is a common career with fairly high pay, but it needs people with soft skills such as good communication and good manners with customers.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is marketing that goes straight to the customer. Many businesses use it today because it works well. The main job of a direct marketing team is to send messages about the business's products and services to consumers. Typical formats include banner ads, flyers and forms.

Distribution

Distribution is a well-known field in marketing. It is the work of getting products and services to customers through intermediaries. Branch stores and online shops are among the most common distribution channels today.

Market Research

What is market research? Market researchers are among the people who decide whether a marketing campaign succeeds or fails. They need to understand customer psychology, know the insights of the target group, and be good at analysis and problem-solving.

Read more about What is marketing research? How to carry out effective market research

Media

Media is a popular choice among young people who study marketing. It is the work of supplying and spreading information to readers so they take an interest in products and services and buy more. It is well regarded for good pay and plenty of openings.

Media Media is now carried out across many channels, including social media, radio, newspapers and TV. A good media plan helps a business's marketing strategy deliver strong results and reach its target customers.

Product Pricing

A pricing specialist determines the true value of a product or service. The job involves weighing factors such as production cost, brand value, labor cost and market demand to arrive at the final selling price.

Sales

Sales calls for good communication skills, an understanding of customer psychology, and persistence. It suits people who studied marketing, and it pays well if you put in the effort.

Digital Strategist

A digital strategy is how a business applies digital technology to its business model to create a real point of difference. Unlike traditional marketing, digital strategy marketing makes the most of modern tools to reach users well. Young marketing graduates are a large talent pool for businesses hiring for this role.

Businesses today make full use of digital channels to promote their products and brands. The main ones are search engines, social media, email and websites that connect with customers.

>>> Read more: The 9 online marketing channels that deliver the best results

SEO Specialist

SEO specialists analyze and optimize websites so they can rank at the top of search results. They manage everything related to SEO, such as keyword strategy, backlinks and content strategy, to make sure the site's rankings go up.

The main job of SEO is to increase traffic to a website, by testing different methods and analyzing data to keep up with what users want. SEO specialists do best when they combine analytical skills, strategic thinking and attention to detail with some knowledge of technology and programming.

Account Executive

An account executive is responsible for communicating with and supporting clients. They look after clients directly and make sure products and services are delivered on schedule. The account executive role suits people with these qualities.

• Soft skills such as communication, understanding customers and handling situations.
• A love of learning how marketing campaigns run.
• Confidence in proposing new ideas that fit the state of the business.

Content Marketing

What is content marketing? It is one of the careers young people like most today. It demands constant creativity and a feel for customer psychology, in order to produce distinctive content that raises a business's conversion rate.

Product Manager

A product manager is the person in charge of refining, marketing and promoting a company's product line. They need a solid grasp of product knowledge. In general, a product manager's work includes the following.

• Learning how to promote a product using data and analytical skills.
• Planning the marketing strategy for the product.
• Working with the marketing and design teams to finish the product.

A product manager needs critical thinking, leadership, communication skills, a good read on the market and the ability to build strategy.

One-to-one Marketing

One-to-one marketing is also known as direct marketing. It is marketing that engages each customer individually and personalizes the message heavily. It is a job that demands good communication skills, to build the loyalty of potential customers toward the business.

Impression Marketing

What is impression marketing? An impression is the number of times your ad content or image is displayed. The person who does impression marketing plans and tracks advertising strategies to make sure the targets are met.

Skills a marketer needs

Now that we have answered "What is marketing?", MONA would like to share the skills that everyone in marketing needs. To do the job well as a professional marketer, you need to master the following.

Reading the market

Marketing is a broad field that brings together many elements. Marketing jobs require a quick sense of the market. Marketers need to know how to research the market and pinpoint what consumers generally need, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of competitors.

-> Learn about The 10 best free online marketing tools today

Understanding customer psychology

A good marketer knows how to read customer psychology. It decides whether customers get interested in a product or ignore what you tell them. The messages in your ads need to hit the unspoken needs buried deep in customers' minds if you want to leave an impression.

Thinking and creativity

Creativity is essential in marketing. Marketers need sound thinking and a high level of creativity to do outstanding work. It is a very important skill that not everyone has. To build your thinking and creativity in marketing, take part in in-house training, take reputable courses, or build the skill yourself over years in the field.

Negotiation skills

Presentation and negotiation are among the skills a professional marketer needs. Staff who negotiate well have the upper hand when talking to clients or in meetings. They can get a clear, detailed message across to the audience and make a good impression easily.

Presentations and negotiations with tight arguments, sharp wording and confident delivery will persuade both management and clients. Step by step, you earn clients' trust and become a highly rated marketer.

Planning skills

Planning matters in every profession, and especially in marketing. A plan helps you set suitable goals and reach them step by step. A good plan is specific and split into several smaller stages, each with its own detailed goals.

Problem-solving skills

Marketers need problem-solving skills to deal quickly with situations that come up when dealing with customers and colleagues. Problem-solving combines several other soft skills, such as analyzing problems, listening, communicating and teamwork.

Communication skills

Many marketing activities now happen online. Even so, marketers still need good communication skills to work with colleagues, deal with their boss and persuade potential customers when needed.

Marketers with good communication skills make cooperation between departments smoother and raise the odds of success in campaigns that need teamwork. Learning to build and nurture relationships with potential customers is also something marketers should pay special attention to.

Teamwork

Teamwork is especially important in marketing. It makes running a marketing campaign easier and smoother. Marketers build and maintain cooperative relationships among team members so they can reach the shared goal in the best way possible.

-> You might also like: What is a media crisis? How to handle a media crisis

What does marketing involve? 10 tasks a marketer does every day

Many young people thinking of studying marketing wonder what marketing is and what marketing students do in their jobs later. To answer these questions, MONA lists 10 tasks that a marketer does every day.

Set specific goals

Most marketers have specific development goals for each project. Setting short-term and long-term goals makes it easier to plan a strategy and detailed steps to reach each goal and make the project a success.

Competitor analysis

Analyzing competitors is something marketing requires, so you understand their strengths and weaknesses. You can learn a lot from competitors by working out who they are, how they market, and which customers they target.

If you choose a career in marketing, you also need a sharp sense for sizing up competitors. Look at which direction they are moving in and what strengths and weaknesses they have compared with you. Knowing your competitors well gives you a real edge and raises the chance that the project succeeds.

Define the target customer

Defining the target customer is an important step a marketer takes before starting any project. Finding the right group of customers, the people who truly care about your products and services, makes marketing easier and raises the conversion rate.

To do this step well, build a marketing model around the insights of your potential customers. You can look into the 4P or 7P models to help you draw up the best possible profile of a potential customer.

Write promotional content

Writing content is an essential part of marketing. You can write on a website, a fanpage, a personal group or social media, depending on the product or service you are marketing.

Content that is attractive, creative and likely to go viral among your target customers brings the product closer to potential buyers. Besides product information, promotional writing should also bring in the brand's strengths and build customer trust.

Educate customers and maintain the relationship

Marketing is how you build and keep relationships with customers. It starts the first time a customer sees or hears about your brand. The steps in marketing help you nurture the relationship and stay in touch through social media or email. As a result, customers may buy more from the business or recommend it to family and friends.

Listen to customers

Listening to customers about your brand and products is a vital step. Honest feedback from users gives you the chance to improve your products and services so they fit what the market needs. And when users report a problem, a business that is ready to listen and act on it earns a warmer view from them.

Position the product segment

Product segment positioning tells you which group a product suits. Each type of product has a different target customer group. Knowing your product's positioning makes it easier to bring the product to the market that consumers actually need.

Testing

The testing stage is one of the more interesting parts of marketing. Trying the plans in a campaign one by one shows you which ones work and which do not. From there you can make a final, well-informed choice to get the best marketing results. With smart technology, you can run tests to find the best marketing campaign for your own customer base.

Measure and analyze

A professional marketer needs to track progress and results accurately and regularly. Reviewing marketing strategies through customer engagement, the number of campaigns completed and events under way helps you see which campaigns are working and which are missing their targets.

Creative ideas

The top quality of a good marketer is creativity and a constant drive to learn. Creativity lets you discover new knowledge and apply it to real work in a practical, effective way.

Some common questions about the marketing field

Marketing has been one of the hottest fields in recent years. These are the questions young people ask most when they want to learn about it.

Is marketing hard to study?

Whether marketing is hard to study depends on each person's mindset and passion. If you love this field, you will be ready to push through any difficulty in your studies and give it your all to get the result you want. You can find materials and teach yourself through websites and social media. There are also many affordable marketing courses that can round out your knowledge.

Which school is good for studying marketing?

Many universities and colleges now offer a marketing major. Each has its own strengths and suits different kinds of learners. You can choose according to where you live and your academic level. Well-known schools that many young people pick for marketing include the following.

• RMIT University
• Thuong Mai University
• Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology
• National Economics University
• University of Finance - Marketing (UFM)
• University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH)
• FPT University
• Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT)

Can you teach yourself marketing?

Besides "What is marketing?", young people also ask whether marketing can be self-taught. You can certainly teach yourself the basics. But it is a hard road that takes intelligence, creativity and patience. To decide whether to self-study, weigh up your current level and how much free time you have. If time is short and your knowledge is thin, find a trustworthy source to learn the basics first before you start teaching yourself.

Do you need to be good with computers for marketing?

Marketing belongs to the economics group of majors. It does not demand strong computer skills or high-spec machines the way design and graphics majors do. Even so, to become a good marketer you still need to be comfortable with computers at a basic level, and to use a machine powerful enough to run the specialized apps and software your work needs.

Where should you start learning marketing?

Marketing is a broad field that needs constant learning and exploration. Before you get into specialist marketing knowledge, learn to filter and take in what you personally need. You can also take online courses with reputable teachers to build your knowledge in a structured way. A firm grip on the basics will make it easier to explore and deepen your expertise by yourself later on.

This article covered What is Marketing and the other information you need to understand this topic better. We hope this summary makes it easier to apply marketing in your work and achieve real results. Visit regularly Mona Media for more useful articles.