Not wanting to tread on any toes but this node would be better titled 'Popular marketing misconceptions'. The writeups contained herein describe a small part of marketing more accurately described as advertising. The Uk Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) offers the following definition:

"Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumers' requirements profitably"

This definition clearly shows the difference between the simplified view of marketing as 'spreading the good news' or the antiquated Webster definition of simply buying and selling in a market compared with the modern view of marketing as an essential function of any business in identifying the wants, needs and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired products more effectively and efficiently than competitors.

It is an important distinction to make between the simple act of advertising and selling a product which has been the traditional view of a marketers role, and the accelerated responsibility of the marketing function in todays business as the driving force behind most major corporate decisions. Indeed the paradigm shift in marketing concepts in recent times has been the idea that everyone at every level of the business is involved in the marketing process.

The view of the marketer as an advertiser or a salesman is obsolete. Marketing is a highly evolved and scientific process which enables a business to develop an accurate understanding of their current and forecast position in relation to their Customers, competitors and the industry in which they operate as a whole. Increasing competition and other constraints on growth in many industries mean it is often the understanding of these factors which makes the distinction between successful and unsuccessful companies.

There is a wealth of information about marketing on the interwebnet thingy, have a look at

http://personal.dis.strath.ac.uk/people/sheila/marketing/

which offers a beginner’s guide to the major concepts.