Distinction Between Selling and Marketing

To many people in the society, marketing is selling and selling is marketing. But in reality, the two concepts differ from each other considerably. The erroneous notion that marketing and selling are synonymous has become very much entrenched into many people's minds and business as a result of the length of time selling has been in practice and the zeal with which its' petitioners have pursued it in a clear understanding of the difference between marketing and selling is very crucial for a proper insight into the nature and philosophy of modern marketing.
Selling focuses on the revenue needs of the seller or firm.

It tries to find means of converting the firm's goods and services into cash or sales revenue. Marketing focuses on the consumers. It tries to look for the best means of satisfying the consumers needs or wants. In order for selling to achieve its goals of satisfying the revenue needs of the firm whatever has already been produced is "sold" to consumers irrespective of how they feel after the sale. But marketing requires that production output and means of getting consumers to adopt eat are determined by marketing research. As a function, selling is narrow in scope.

It is a post production activity which ends with conversion of already - produced goods and services into sales revenue. Marketing is wider than selling in scope. It begins before production and does not end with making sales it goes beyond sales in order to ensure that buyers are satisfied with their purchases.
As a narrow function, selling is generally carried out by only one department or section but marketing is expected to permit all the sections and departments of the firm, whose members are all supposed to be actively involved in defining and satisfying consumers' needs. The goal of selling is basically immediate or short run. It  usually ends with a single transaction with the buyer (one time business).

Marketing is interested in long- run goals. It tries to build long lasting relationships or repeat purchases through customer satisfaction. Because of the short run goals of selling emphasis is not place on getting feedback from customers. This sometimes leads to sharp or unethical practices which injure the feelings of customers. Marketing things about the future. It therefore places a great emphasis on feedback from customers. The approach use of this feedback anables the firm to keep abreast and adjust to the changes in the needs and wants of customers. This helps to ensure the long-run profitability survival, and growth of the firm.

Like buying, transportation, standardization and grading, selling is a tool or function of marketing when appropriately used, selling can help to achieve the objectives of marketing, in this way some measures of selling would always be needed in marketing. But the pursuance of selling as a business or managerial philosophy is undesirable and should be discouraged.