Marketing vs. Sales: Understanding the Key Differences

Often people use the terms Sales and Marketing interchangeably. But there is a wide difference between the two. Although both aims at increasing revenues and profit for organizations yet the concepts are solely different. Have a look at the definitions to understand both the concepts clearly.

Marketing 

 

Marketing is usually defined as the process of manufacturing goods and services according to the needs of customers, delivering and satisfying the end-users ultimately. Yes the concept of marketing involves three broad perspectives which include

I) Market Research or Customer Survey 

The concept of marketing starts with the customer survey itself. I will explain this with an example. 

Just imagine you want to launch a new model of smartphone in the market then your first marketing strategy plan will be to understand customers’ demands through a survey. You can either use the:

• Primary Data or First-Hand Data
• Secondary Data or Data Collection From the Internet or Third Parties

The next step is developing the smartphone. 

II) Product Development

In this marketing strategy plan, developers create the product according to the demands of the customers they have got from the first stage. 

Like developing the smartphone thinking about the present and forthcoming demands of people. This implies they not only take into account the existing demands but also the future demands of customers. 

III) Promotion 

Now comes the vital part of the marketing strategy plan i.e. advertising the product. They can think of different advertisement strategies to promote their newly launched smartphone through

• TV
• Radio
• Hoardings
• Social Media etc

Hence Marketing is a broader concept and involves promotional strategies mostly. 

 

Sales 

 

A simple definition for Sales will be a part of marketing which involves

• Convincing Customers
• Making Customers feel the need for products or services
• Matching products or services with customers’ demands etc

Hence the difference between Sales and Marketing is while the former aims at Push Strategy the latter aims at Pull Strategy. 

Types Of Marketing

Let us now look at the different types of marketing strategy plan you can use to promote your products or services. 

Local Marketing 

This type of marketing works for all brands and features that feature brick-and-mortar locations (offline stores) comprising of:

• Bars
• Shops
• Restaurants
• Shopping Malls 
• Electricians
• Plumbers etc

They follow two types of marketing strategies which are described below. 

Marketing Strategies

Mediums

Inbound

LOCAL SEO, Social Media Marketing, SMS Marketing, etc

Outbound

Display Advertisements, Local Events, etc

Global Marketing 

From the term “Global” the concept is quite clear. The process of creating a marketing strategy plan understanding the needs of people of other nations in the world can be defined as Global Marketing. 

In other words, it comprises the entire processes of planning, developing, locating & advertising your products or services in the international market. 

But yes you will have to take utmost care while placing your products or services in the international market. 

Word of Mouth 

Also known as WOM communication this is one of the effective strategies used in the process of marketing strategy. Here your existing customers do the marketing on your behalf. 

I will give an easy example to make you understand the concept of WOM communication. You have opened a new fashion house with new collections of dresses for ladies. I come to your offline store and feel impressed by seeing the nice collections and great discounts. 

So I refer your fashion house to other friends and relatives which increases your revenues and customer base in the long run without having to spend something from your end. 

Here I have stated examples of offline stores. But it can be referring to online sites as well. 

SMS Marketing

SMS or Short Message Service is also an important marketing strategy for the advertisement of products or services. I can give my example here. 

Every day I receive messages from known and unknown brands about discounts, requests business, and new offers. If I find the offer lucrative then obviously I go for it. 

Here the marketers get numbers of customers from their records or directories and send messages regarding their offers. 

Email Marketing

This is the most used platform in the field of marketing strategy plan nowadays. The process involves sending commercial messages to existing and potential customers through emails. 

They add descriptions of their newly launched or current products or services and send emails to customers. 

These can include sending advertisements, donations or requests for business, etc. 

Social Media Marketing

As the name implies this type of marketing strategy plan involves the use of social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. 

You may have noticed many companies have registered with the aforesaid platforms to advertise their products or services. Even small business entrepreneurs are using social media platforms to promote their handmade jewellery, dresses, arts and crafts, etc. 

The social media platform has become quite popular among researchers and practitioners as well. The use of social media platforms also includes Websites. 

Influencer Marketing

This kind of marketing is somewhat related to social media platforms. Influencers or individuals who are dedicated social followers and considered experts in the respective niche give their expert opinions regarding a particular product or service. They endorse products or services of other organizations and increase the customer base in the future. 

Content Marketing

Content marketing is again a form of digital marketing strategy plan that tries to attract customers by giving relevant information on products and services. 

I can give you a small example of content marketing itself. Say for example if you are not aware of the meaning of content marketing and you use Mr Google to help you with the answers. From the given number of results, you open a particular link wherein the topic has been mentioned in detail. 

This is content marketing which helps you get answers to your questions just by typing the correct set of keywords in the search bar of search engines.  

Marketing has a great importance that helps companies to create brand awareness about their products or services and attract them in the long run. – Reza Abbaszadeh