Many companies today have a customer focus (or market orientation). This implies that the company focuses its activities and products on consumer demands.
Generally there are three ways of doing this: the customer-driven approach, the sense of identifying market changes and the product innovation approach.

Marketing practice tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the customers' future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research.
Functions and advantages of successful advertising

• Maximize sales
• Publicity
• Brand building
• Create awareness
• Persuade buyers
• Introduction of new product
• Enable market leadership
• To face competition
• To inform changes
• To counteract to competitors advertisement
• To enhance goodwill
• Sales promotion

Marketing produces:

• Higher degree of credibility
• Effectively news
• Boosts enterprise's image