What comes first? Sales or Marketing?

Still a common misconception amongst many in organisations is that marketing is there to sell a company's products and services. Actually this is a rather limited view of true marketing. In the days when demand for goods and services outsrippped supply and consumers had little choice, things were different. However in the modern day, we now see the impact of globalisation, proliferation of products and a more discerning consumer where brand loyalty can change at the click of a mouse. These factors increase the complexity of the customer engagement process. Dr Philip Kotler says that 'Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of something you make. It is the art of creating geniune customer value'. Marketing is therefore something that comes at the beginning of the process and even before products and solutions are created. It is the research and the understanding of the customer needs and wants and an identificatication of how an organisation can satifisfy those needs and make a suitable profit in the process. It is how the goods and services are positioned to a targetted audience that have been identified as having those identifiable needs. Also, marketing is an evolving process that does not stop at the sale but continues on beyond the sale to drive a loyal customer base that will become advocates for the company. So marketing comes first and marketing comes last. Actually successful organisations already know this and ensure that organisational processes such as manufacturing and sales - all centre around satisfying the needs and wants of consumers...