What is the purpose of marketing? (updated for 2021)

 What is the purpose of marketing?

The purpose of marketing is to generate revenue for a brand, company, or organization. Marketing professionals and teams achieve this through the execution of strategic digital activities that drive traffic, qualified leads, and sales, in direct collaboration with their sales team.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2012. Let's be honest, a lot has changed since then. To that end, this article has been updated substantially in 2021 to reflect new realities, trends, and best practices all digital marketers need to know. 

I feel bad for marketers.

I'm not just saying that because I am a marketer of almost 10 years myself, although I do have a reputation for being a touch dramatic. Rather, I mention this because all of us whose careers fall under the marketing umbrella have been in the throes of a serious identity crisis — constantly having to justify to others we work with who we are, what we do, and why we're valuable — and we've been doing it for decades. 

Of course, we have to be willing to admit that the confusion of others is valid. We've experienced significant changes in the purpose of marketing and what we do. In fact, those changes have accelerated at a break-neck pace in the past 10 years (thanks, internet!), as well as in just the past 10 months, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now, as we look ahead to 2021, everyone is stressed out over the role of marketing, and what it's supposed to look like.

We're all stressed for different reasons...

Business leaders are stressed because the future of their business and (in some cases) their ability to simply survive the current coronavirus-induced economic turbulence depends on successful marketing. But they're not even sure what their marketing is even supposed to be doing for them right now.

Marketing department heads are no stranger to feeling misunderstood or having to constantly prove their worth, but they, too, are trying to right the ship. They love their team and believe in the work they're doing, but they don't want to have to make tough, reactive decisions just because they don't have the answers their bosses are looking for. Plus, given how much has changed, they aren't sure they're still pointed in the right direction.

Then there are the wildly talented, multi-dimensional digital marketing worker bees — your marketing managers, coordinators, specialists, and strategists. They just want to understand what people want from them, what success looks like, and a clear understanding of how they're supposed to be working with and supporting other members of their company.

They're stressed and confused, because "mommy and daddy are fighting" and they don't know if it's their fault. Moreover, they're tired of their work and their wins being labeled as fluffy or hollow.