Dr. Philip Kotler defines marketing as “the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.”
The major differences between
selling and marketing are listed as
below:
(i) Part of the Process vs Wider Term:
Selling is only a part of the process
of marketing and is concerned with
promoting and transferring
possession and ownership of goods
from the seller to the buyer.
Marketing is a much wider term
consisting of number of activities
such as identification of the
customer’s needs, developing the
products to satisfy these needs,
fixing prices and persuading the
potential buyers to buy the same.
Thus, selling is merely a part of
marketing.
(ii) Transfer of Title vs Satisfying
Customer Needs: The main focus
of selling is on affecting transfer
of title and possession of goods
from sellers to consumers or users.
In contrast, marketing activities
put greater thrust on achieving
maximum satisfaction of the
customer’s needs and wants.
(iii) Profit through Maximising Sales vs
Customer Satisfaction: All selling
activities are directed at maximising
sales and, thereby, the profits of the
firm. In other words, the emphasis
is on profit maximisation through
maximisation of sales. Marketing, on the other hand, is concerned with
customer satisfaction and thereby
increasing profit in the long run. A
marketing organisation, thus,
attaches highest importance to
customer satisfaction as a route to
profit maximisation.
(iv) Start and End of the Activities:
Selling activities start after the
product has been developed while
marketing activities start much
before the product is produced and
continue even after the product
has been sold.
(v) Difference in the Emphasis: In
selling, the emphasis is on bending
the customer according to the
product while in marketing, the
attempt is to develop the product
and other strategies as per the
customer needs.
(vi) Difference in the Strategies: Selling
involves efforts like promotion and
persuasion while marketing uses
integrated marketing efforts
involving strategies in respect of
product, promotion, pricing and
physical distribution.