Many people (and some businesses) believe that marketing = advertising. Advertising only makes up a small portion of marketing (see 4.5 Promotion). Marketing is the process of determining the wants and needs of consumers and organizing business activity in a manner that aims to meet these requirements. This organization of business activity is known as the marketing mix.

The Product, Price, Promotion and Place all need to be synchronised in order for a business to successfully market itself. Effective marketing strategies will improve the market share of a business in its progress towards market leadership. The role of marketing differs for not-for-profit organizations. All businesses need to develop a marketing plan if the marketing and overall objectives of an organization are to be achieved.