What is Marketing? Merriam-Webster defines marketing as the act or process of selling or buying in a market. (Merriam-Webster, 2007) The American Market Association defines marketing as an organizational function and set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and managing customer relationships in ways that benefit to the organization. (American Marketing Association, 2006) Why is marketing an important factor in business success? Marketing plays a vital role in the success of an organization as well as economic growth and development. (Perrault and McCarthy, 2004) In my personal opinion, marketing is about understanding a customer's needs (both current and potential) and creating a product that provides value. Customers form expectations about the value of the products and services offered. (Armstrong & Kotler, 2005) There are many definitions of marketing, but the central focus of all of them is the consumer and the product. Marketing allows organizations to make their products recognized and desired by consumers. (Oppaper, 2006) For businesses to understand customer needs, they need to implement a marketing strategy. A marketing strategy identifies the customer groups that a particular company can serve better than its target competitors, and tailors product pricing, distribution, promotional efforts, and services to those market segments. Ideally, the strategy should address unmet customer needs that offer adequate profitability potential; a good strategy helps a business focus on the target market it can best serve. (SBA Marketing Basics, 2007) The financial success of a business depends on marketing. A customer who has had a bad experience with a particular company can harm the future sales of the company as well as any potential customers with whom they share their experience. Businesses need to understand that what works for one business may not work for the next. business. Businesses also need to review the important four Ps strategy: product, place, price and promotions. (Oppaper, 2006) Simply put, marketing is important for a business to understand what is being sold, where it is going to be sold, for how much and to whom. Just as an organization would do with one in your business plan, you will need to bring together the many elements to demonstrate how you will reach your target audience..