Same-Same, But Different.

For more than 8 years I worked with Students, Individuals, Entrepreneurs, and Businesses as a consultant. At first their words, vision, and mission to achieve greatness impressed me a lot. They had the passion, commitment, and zeal to achieve greatness, but over a period of time I saw them fail. One thing that surprised me was, though they had the passion they lacked basics, they failed to understand the basic difference between "Marketing, Advertising, and Sales", and this hampered their team and their business.

Whenever anyone ask me "Aren't Marketing, Advertising, and Sales basically the same thing?" I just smile and say, "If they were same thing, why did the world give them different terms. Shouldn't everything be called Marketing or Advertising or Sale."

Marketing, Advertising, and Sales are three very important, but different, functions within a business or organisation. Sales and Advertising are functions of Marketing, which involves getting product/services from the idea stage to customer.

Marketing is like a battle plan or game plan. It is the activity, set of institution, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value.

Advertising is more about "Getting the Word out" using various channels both traditional and digital. it is the literal process of making a product/service known to audience. 

Sales is about closing the deals. Converting the leads into customers.

Whether you are doing your marketing or hiring a consultant, it is important to understand the differing roles and importance of Marketing, Advertising, and Sales for best results.