'There are as many definitions of marketing as there are marketing books and marketing gurus. Here are some that we find most thought-provoking: Which would you choose?

"A philosophy or orientation for the whole business - defining the primary goal of everyone in the organization." Or "A set of distinct activities and tasks which constitute marketing planning and decision making."

Or perhaps something a little snappier:

"The identification and creation of sustainable competitive advantage."

That's OK as far as it goes, but it's not very helpful with regards to how to identify and create competitive advantage. Perhaps this is better:

"Marketing is a dialogue over time with specific groups of customers whose needs you understand in depth and for whom you develop an offer with a different advantage over the offer of your competitors."

Sounds good to us.

For a complete alternative, from our Light Relief pages, click to take a look at this marketing definition.