Marketing Vs Advertising – The Key Differences

As technology evolves and becomes more popular, modern businesses engage in a variety of marketing and advertising strategies to reach their target audience and increase sales. After all, the main aim of marketing and advertising for any business is to earn revenue.

Today, the technological evolution is at a much faster pace. And marketing and advertising too seem to in accordance appear everywhere – be it the traditional marketing methods, digital marketing, direct mail, traditional advertising, social media posts, or public relations. A portion of this existence is due to the cogency of marketing and advertising strategies driving success for businesses – of every shape and size.

Even though they are different, both marketing and advertising are undeniably a combination that works best for the success of a business. Also, Advertising is, in fact, a part of marketing and is a must include in all kinds of marketing efforts.

But first, let’s know what is marketing and why we need marketing?

What is Marketing?

In layman’s terms, Marketing is an activity that a company/brand undertakes to promote the buying or selling of its product or service.

It is the process of getting people interested in wanting to know you and your company’s products or services better. You can make this happen by understanding your ideal audience’s interests, preferably through market research and consumer behavior analysis.

The Purpose of Marketing

The fundamental purpose of marketing is to generate revenue through multiple channels. With the help of a marketing strategy, a marketing team executes offline and online activities that help drive traffic, qualify leads and work on growing sales and after-sales support by collaborating and strategizing with the sales managers.

Marketing at its most basic level seeks to match a company’s products or services to potential and existing customers who might want or need access to those products and services. Since bringing the right products to the right customers ensures profitability.

Understanding Marketing

Marketing as a field involves all actions a company undertakes to draw customers, maintain lasting relationships, invoke the desire of want, and grow the company’s revenue.

As a part of the marketing team, you will need to network with potential and past clients via emails, calls, or social media platforms. In some cases, it might also include you playing golf or dining out with prospective clients.

To rightfully understand marketing, you need to know the 4Ps of marketing.

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

The four P’s of marketing are key factors involved in any kind of marketing plan. They are often referred to as the marketing mix, as internal and external factors constrain the four Ps in an overall business environment. Therefore, for an overall marketing strategy to be successful, it needs to cater to and utilize the 4Ps in creating engaging marketing messages for its customers.

Neil Borden, an advertising professor at Harvard University in the 1950s, popularized the idea of the marketing mix and the concepts that later got known as the four Ps. In 1964 his article titled “The Concept of the Marketing Mix” examined how companies could use different marketing materials as advertising tactics to engage their customers. Check out some trade show marketing ideas.

In recent years, the 4Ps have expanded to 7Ps, especially for companies that provide services and not just products. The new additions are, 

• People
• Process
• Physical evidence

The Need for Market Research In A Marketing Strategy

A market research is the first step of any marketing plan. Thus, for a marketing team to assess and demonstrate robust brand loyalty from the target market, a detailed market analysis should first take the first step. Ideally, to maximize your business or brand’s growth, it is imperative to conduct a complete market research and understand your audience and its usage within the demographic.

A thorough analysis of the available brands in the market enables the marketing team to understand the customer perception, which will, in turn, help create suitable marketing activities that will lead to the brand’s success.

By conducting a market analysis directly with potential customers, you can determine whether a service or product is viable and gain consumer feedback about their interest in the product or service.

Some of the key takeaways of doing a market research are, 

• It can give you an accurate picture of your business and market. Also, you can see how your competitors work, perceive you and how they attract new customers.
• It can help you identify your customers, their location, and which customers are most likely to do business with you. 
• Market analysis is also your opportunity to ask prospective customers “Why?” if they have indicated they wouldn’t want to buy your products or work with them. 
• It can reveal how prospects and customers perceive your products and show you whether you are meeting their needs or not. There’s even a chance you can uncover opinions about your business and/or products that you weren’t aware of.
• By looking at how similar products have performed in the marketplace, you can determine if an idea for a business or product will work and if customers will find it appealing. 
• You can use it to make good decisions about product packaging and promotional strategies and create an effective marketing message.

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Different Types of Marketing Strategies

Marketing in itself has many divisions, which all come together under a foolproof marketing plan to promote a company’s products to its potential customers. For the marketing strategy to work best, a marketing team needs to create awareness about the products’ qualities, specifications, and benefits. It is basically encouraging the target audience to buy the products and services. The marketing strategies can be completely new, or they can be previously tried and tested. Find how to create your first marketing campaign guide.

A successful marketing strategy involves analyzing the needs of your business, your target audience, and the specifications of your products.

There are two main forms of marketing strategies:

• Business to business (B2B) marketing – B2B marketing is the practice of marketing/selling products and services to businesses. Its goal is to improve lead quality, sales acceptance of leads, and conversion rates. 

• Business to consumer (B2C) marketing – B2C marketing is where companies target individual consumers. It is a long-term revenue generator where with the right marketing initiatives, the business can efficiently have a band of loyal customers and gain more customers over time.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing is the most common form of marketing. 

The different segments of marketing are,

• Content marketing
• Social media marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Advertising marketing
• Cause Marketing
• Inbound marketing
• Relationship marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Undercover Marketing
• Video Marketing
• Transactional Marketing
• Diversity Marketing
• Word of Mouth

What is Advertising?

An advertisement is a communication method that companies and brands embark on to promote their products or services to their target audiences. Often, an advertisement is a paid promotion of a product or service to attract the public’s attention.

Advertising happens in various shapes, sizes and forms. It can be a thirty-second television ad, a radio jingle, a print publication, or a highly personalized promotional campaign via social media posts. As mentioned before, advertising is a subset of marketing because all the advertising plans like – social media ads, sponsored posts, and other ad placement support your overall marketing umbrella. Find some interesting marketing brochure design ideas.

So, how do you define an advertisement’s purpose, and why is it important?

Purpose of An Advertisement

An advertisement aims to promote and gain a loyal audience for a company or brand. Advertising is, in general, a paid promotional tool that uses any form of communication media where businesses use the help of an advertising agency to plan a successful advertising campaign that will help promote them to the masses.

A company generally sponsors the creation of advertising strategies across various advertising channels, such as creating advertising messages, paid media buying, exclusive distribution of ad placement on tv commercials, and many more.

The Objective of Advertising

Advertisements can have a variety of objectives, depending on the type of business, marketing campaign, campaign requirements, etc. These objectives can generally be categorized into three major categories –

• Inform: Increase brand awareness and brand exposure in the target market by informing consumers about the brand or offering.
• Persuade: Persuade the customers to perform a specific task, such as buying or trying a product or providing information.
• Remind: Remind and reinforce the brand messaging and reassure the target audience about the brand’s vision.

Besides these three main objectives, advertisements also focus on building the brand image, increasing sales, creating demand, engaging with the target audience, expanding the customer base, and changing customers’ attitudes.

Different Types Of Advertisements

• Native Advertising
• Digital Advertising
• Mobile advertising
• Social Media ads
• Print Ads
• Banner ads
• Paid Ads
• Broadcast Ads
• Outdoor Ads

Key Differences in Marketing vs. Advertising

1. Responsibilities

Marketing

Profitability is one of the biggest responsibilities that marketing teams have. To achieve that, the teams are responsible for,

• Branding: Creating a unique symbol, name, or feature to distinguish a product or service from others. Using effective communication methods, it creates a lasting image for the audience. 
• Develop Customer Relationship: Understanding the customers’ demands and expectations by using CSAT Survey and feedback tools.
• Keeping up with the competition: Knowing where your company stands concerning the market. Closely watch your competitor, monitor what/when they’re launching, what they’re doing right or wrong, and how not to make the same mistakes.
• Communication: Providing information about your marketing activities and philosophies through talks, presentations, training sessions, or workshops.
• Strategy & Research: Researching and identifying tools to improve marketing automation, product management platforms, and sales enablement to generate more revenue.
• Budgeting: Managing budgets to keep ROI healthy and positive. Identifying which channels, activities, or strategies, such as direct marketing, database marketing, traditional marketing, etc., are worth pursuing.

Advertising

Advertising responsibilities include:

• Creative production: Creation and execution of the advertising message and images.
• Audience analysis: Determine how best to convey a message to audiences.
• Behavior analysis: Identifying which advertising outlets are most appropriate for a specific market segment based on the media consumption trends.
• Pitching: Outlining the advertising campaign’s objectives and how you intend to achieve them.
• Media buying: Finding the best channels for placing ads, including TV, radio, print, billboards, or online.
• Estimates and budgets: Drafting budgets that align with the company’s overarching marketing and sales goals.
• Communication: Coordinating the advertising needs of a company with the agency that produces and places the ad.

2. Goals

Goals help you stay on track. They are vital for business success. Below are some of the goals that both departments aspire to achieve:

Marketing

• Generate leads
• Gain more customers
• Retain existing customers
• Increase sales
• Recognize upselling and cross-selling prospects
• Elevate customer satisfaction
• Build the right product
• Launch a new product, service, or initiative
• Track, measure, and improve your efforts

Advertising

• Influence the audience’s buying
• Remind customers about your brand/product
• Maintain a strong image and brand standing
• Create a favorable attitude toward your brand to increase brand loyalty
• Increase awareness of your company, brand, or solution among consumers
• Attract first-time buyers
• Motivate existing customers to make repeat purchases

3. Channels

A marketing or advertising channel is the medium through which campaigns are spread. Over the years, particularly with the continued internet use, both marketing and advertising mediums have grown.

Marketing

Popular marketing methods that have proven to be effective include:

• Inbound marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Content marketing
• Website marketing
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Offline marketing

Advertising

Some paid advertising channels you can use are:

• Television and radio spot ads
• Billboards
• Print advertising
• Social ads
• Native advertising
• Paid search
• Digital display advertising
• Strategy and techniques

4. Strategy and Technique

Advertisers and marketers use the following B2C and B2B marketing strategies to engage audiences and promote their products:

Marketing

• Creating user-generated content
• Collaborating with influencers and brands with audiences in line with your products
• Using data and market analysis
• Solving customer pain points with helpful content
• Providing customers with an interactive platform 
• Using employee engagement tools 
• Nurturing relationships with existing customers 
• Testing new channels, platforms, and tools

Advertising

• Promotional advertising
• Bandwagon advertising
• Surrogate advertising
• Patriotic advertising
• Celebrity endorsements
• Complimenting the consumer
• Emotional Appeal
• Add facts and statistics in advertising copy
• Technology and tools

6. Technology and tools

Marketing and advertising both use specialized platforms, tools, and technologies, to create the best results.

Marketing

Research: Social media listening tools, Google Keyword Planner for keyword research, Google Analytics for website data analysis, Google Trends for spotting trends, and survey tools such as SurveyMonkey for target audience survey. Google CRM for bulk emails and better team collaboration.

• Lead generation: Email marketing software for capturing leads and segmenting lists, CRM software for managing accounts and records, and landing page builders to create captivating landing pages. 
• Product development: Tracking and analysis tools, roadmap software, flowcharting software, recording apps, presentation tools, project management software, and file-sharing tools.

Advertising

• Ad Campaigns: Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, print publications, billboards, television ads and radio spots, Keyword search ads, search engines, etc.
• Advertising Tools: audio/video equipment, photography tools, and editing software 

You can also check out the best advertising agency project management software to speed up your team process.

Advertising and Marketing in the Future

With a commercial landscape that is increasingly digital and on-demand, marketing is sure to continue to change and evolve. As a result, the way companies advertise will change as well.

Yet, one thing that will remain constant is the breadth of marketing, which includes any action meant to spread awareness about a product or service and skillfully market it. Find what is outdoor marketing and its benefits plus strategies.

Conclusion

Even though marketing and advertising are often considered as one, there are many aspects where they differ. This blog post aims to explain the fundamental differences between the two so you, your company, and your clients can have more productive conversations when planning and monitoring marketing or advertising campaigns.