Meaning & use
marketing
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebusiness
The work of finding out what customers want and promoting products to them, including research, pricing, and advertising.
Grammar: Used without a: she works in marketing.
Patterns
- marketing for something
- work in marketing
She works in marketing for a sportswear company.
Good marketing can make an unknown brand popular.
The firm spent heavily on marketing last year.
noununcountablebusiness
The department or group of people in a company responsible for promoting its products.
Grammar: Can take a singular or plural verb in British English.
Patterns
- the marketing department
Marketing is meeting with the designers on Friday.
He moved from sales to marketing last year.
The marketing team launched the new campaign.
noununcountableold-fashioned
The act of buying or selling goods in a market.
Grammar: A less common, general sense found in farming and trade.
Patterns
- the marketing of something
The marketing of fresh fruit begins in early summer.
Farmers cooperated in the marketing of their crops.
The marketing of the harvest was handled by a local board.
Common combinations
- marketing strategy
- The company updated its marketing strategy.
- digital marketing
- Digital marketing reaches customers online.
- marketing campaign
- The marketing campaign launched in spring.
- marketing budget
- The marketing budget was cut in half.
- direct marketing
- Direct marketing sends offers straight to customers.
- marketing department
- The marketing department designed the new logo.
Synonyms and how they differ
- advertising
- Advertising is only the paid promotion of a product, while marketing includes research, pricing, and distribution too.
- promotion
- Promotion covers activities that raise awareness, a narrower part of marketing.
- publicity
- Publicity is attention from media, often unpaid, whereas marketing is a planned business process.
- selling
- Selling is the direct exchange of goods for money, while marketing prepares the ground for it.
Word family
- market noun
- a place or system where goods are bought and sold
- market verb
- to promote and sell a product
- marketer noun
- a person who works in marketing
- marketable adjective
- able to be sold easily
- remarketing noun
- advertising again to people who visited before
Commonly confused: marketing or merchandising?
marketing vs merchandising
Merchandising is arranging and displaying goods in shops, which is only one small part of marketing.
Practice
Which activity is part of marketing but is not advertising?
Choose one answer.
Market research is part of marketing but is not itself advertising. The other options are forms of advertising.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “marketing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.