Summary
The formal definition of marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. It’s determining what the customer needs and finds valuable, even if the customer doesn’t know they need it yet. Marketers can market physical goods such as food, furniture and computers or intangible products such legal, health, and financial services as well as entertainment and recreation. The changing environment of the marketplace has created consumers who are more knowledgeable and have instant access to information and reviews about products through online resources. As a result, companies have had to adapt to a world that is constantly changing. The older, individualized marketing concepts of production, product, selling and marketing have been replaced by the holistic marketing concept that recognizes a much broader, integrated perspective. To be successful, companies must develop marketing strategies that connect with consumers and build strong, long-term relationships with them using the current four P’s: people, processes, programs, and performance.
A. The Scope of Marketing
1. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, In short, it is about identifying and meeting human needs profitably.
2. An example of meeting these needs is eBay, an online auction clearinghouse that helps people locate (and purchase) some of the items they desire most.
3. There are ten main types of entities marketed: goods, services, events, experiences, persons, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas. The marketer is someone who seeks a response from a prospect and it can be done in a physical place such as a store, called the marketplace, or digitally online, such as the internet.
B. Core Marketing Concepts
1. Core marketing concepts are based on needs, which are the basic human requirements for air, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Wants are when needs are directed to specific objects and demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay.
2. A consumer may need food, wants a hamburger and buys it at the local Sonic.
3. Marketers help influence wants and helps consumers learn what they want. Because likes and dislikes are varied among consumers, marketers identify distinct groups of purchasers called target markets. They make offerings to consumers for things the consumers find valuable, sometimes associated with known brands, such as McDonalds. The offerings are successful if the consumers find value and satisfaction and their expectations are met. Marketers use different channels to reach their target market, including print and various forms of media and must compete with other marketers along the way, even within the supply chain channel. Competition abounds in rival offerings or substitute products. All of this exists in two marketing environments, the task environment and the broad environment. The task environment consists of all the people, companies, suppliers, distributors, etc. and the broad environment consists of the following six components: demographic, economic, sociocultural, natural, technological and political-legal environments. All of these can affect marketing outcomes.
C. New Marketing Realities
1. Marketing realities are the major societal forces that exist in the world today that affect the way consumers make their purchases. Development of the internet led to disintermediation – the elimination of the “middle man” – consumers are now able to use the internet for shopping and purchases without going to a brick and mortar store.
2. Amazon.com is a great example of disintermediation and paved the way for other traditional companies to add online services.
3. Consumers now have many capabilities that have increased their ability to purchase. They are easily connected to other consumers through social networking sites and can easily exchange information about products, including opinions and ideas in evaluating products. Companies also have greater capabilities to reach consumers by advertising and offering their products to consumers by advertising on social sites and by soliciting input from consumers while developing the products.
D. Company Orientation Toward the Marketplace
1. Company orientation toward the marketplace is when companies choose to conduct their business under five competing concepts: production, product, selling, marketing and holistic marketing.
2. McDonalds is an example of a company that tries to build relationships with consumers by using many corporate social initiatives.
3. A company’s marketing philosophy will need to move away from the earlier marketing ideas of the production concept, the product concept, the selling concept and the marketing concept. Successful marketing cannot be based on any single concept. The holistic marketing concept has four broad marketing components: Relationship marketing, integrated marketing, internal marketing and performance marketing. It acknowledges that everything matters in marketing and companies strive to keep their programs current with the marketplace.
E. Updating the Four Ps
1. The Four Ps are the classification of various marketing activities into marketing-mix tools. Formerly production, product, selling and marketing, they have since evolved into people, processes, programs and performance.
2. Marketers must now view and understand consumers as people and learn about their lives. They must guide creativity, discipline and structure by using the right processes. Marketers must integrate the old four P’s as well as the new to accomplish all the objectives of programs for consumer directed activities. Performance must address all the financial and nonfinancial implications including profitability as well as social responsibility, legal, ethical and community related outcomes.
F. Marketing Management Tasks
1. Marketing management tasks are a specific set of tasks that make up successful marketing management and marketing leadership.
2. Marketing management tasks are developing marketing strategies and plans by identifying long-run opportunities; capturing marketing insights by closely monitoring the marketing environment; connecting with customers by creating value by developing strong long-term relationships with its customers; building strong brands by understanding how customers perceive their strengths and weaknesses; shaping the market offerings by developing a great product; delivering value by making the product accessible and available; communicating value by utilizing an integrated marketing communication program and by creating successful long-term growth by taking into account changing global opportunities.
