Marketing is one of the most important things that a business can do to develop and grow. Over time, different schools of thought have developed around marketing practice but the aim remains the same – to raise brand awareness, increase sales, engage with target audiences and, ultimately, grow the business.
According to management, marketing and innovation guru, Peter Drucker:
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well, [that] the product or service fits him and sells itself.”
To achieve this, Drucker believed that businesses had two basic functions – marketing and innovation, with marketing representing the ‘unique function of the business.’
It is this unique function of the business which has developed and grown throughout the twentieth century into what has now become a well-respected and integral part of the business function.
But it hasn’t been an easy road for marketing as a profession and marketing associations have played a significant role in achieving more recognition for it as a key strategic player in the growth of business and economies.
Much remains to be done, however, and according the European Marketing Confederation (EMC), Europe’s largest marketing membership organisation, it is the role of the marketing association to continue to develop high standards and professional integrity in marketing.
Read their latest blog to find out more about the role that marketing associations play – not only in developing marketing as a practice, but also in supporting marketers in their professional development, whilst lobbying for a strategic place for marketing at the board table.