Marketing is the art of identifying and fulfilling consumer needs.

All kinds of organizations face marketing problems:

• Corporations fight for market share and revenue
• Universities compete for students
• Politicians cultivate their public image to get votes
• Cultural institutions want to attract more visitors

All organizations want to attract resources from the public, such as: money, interest, engagement, votes etc. The challenge is figuring out how to persuade people to hand them over.

1. Responsive marketing -- it's about identifying and fulfilling pre-existing needs.
2. Anticipative marketing -- it's about recognizing trends in society and building products that fulfill newly emerging needs.
3. Need-shaping marketing -- it's about creating needs that don't exist yet. This requires large investments in innovation and development.

This method is based on offering people some perceived value in return for their resources.

Steps:

1. Research market opportunities
2. Choose a target market
3. Decide on a unique positioning
4. Implement marketing tactics
5. Evaluate the results

These steps form a circular process that can be repeated to adapt to new market conditions.

Creating a marketing plan is critical for the success of any company. The plan doubles as an alignment tool because it enables managers to brainstorm ideas and communicate shared visions and goals with one another.

What to include in the plan:

• Summary of the current situation of the company and the market
• Marketing objectives for the year
• Chosen marketing strategy
• Action plan
• Methods for evaluation

Make the plan clear and concise. Keep it under one page so everyone in the company can read it.