Solutions to Assignments
BCOE - 141 - Principles of Marketing
Question No. 1
What is marketing? Explain the different marketing concepts.
Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. Marketing includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other businesses. Some marketing is done by affiliates on behalf of a company.
Professionals who work in a corporation's marketing and promotion departments seek to get the attention of key potential audiences through advertising. Promotions are targeted to certain audiences and may involve celebrity endorsements, catchy phrases or slogans, memorable packaging or graphic designs and overall media exposure.
Marketing as a discipline involves all the actions a company undertakes to draw in customers and maintain relationships with them. Networking with potential or past clients is part of the work too, and may include writing thank you emails, playing golf with prospective clients, returning calls and emails quickly, and meeting with clients for coffee or a meal.
At its most basic level, marketing seeks to match a company's products and services to customers who want access to those products. Matching products to customers ultimately ensures profitability.
Marketing is the process of “creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large,” according to the American Marketing Association. This process is done in a number of different ways; marketing professionals use one or more of the five concepts of marketing in order to earn consumer confidence and create profitable, long-term relationships with consumers. But not all the concepts are equally effective.
Robert Katai, an experienced marketing strategist, provides the definition of a marketing concept: “A strategy that companies and marketing agencies design and implement in order to satisfy customers’ needs, maximize profits, satisfy customer needs, and beat the competitors or outperform them.” The main five include the production, product, selling, marketing, and societal concepts, and they have been evolving for decades. Not every concept is beneficial to every business, so here is a timely and convenient opportunity to learn more about each one.
- The Production Concept
The production concept is focused on operations and is based on the assumption that customers will be more attracted to products that are readily available and can be purchased for less than competing products of the same kind. This concept came about as a result of the rise of early capitalism in the 1950s, at which time, companies were focused on efficiency in manufacturing to ensure maximum profits and scalability.
This philosophy can be useful when a company markets in an industry experiencing tremendous growth, but it also carries a risk. Businesses that are overly focused on cheap production can easily lose touch with the needs of the customer and ultimately lose business despite its cheap and accessible goods.
- The Product Concept
The product concept is the opposite of the production concept in that it assumes that availability and price don’t have a role in customer buying habits and that people generally prefer quality, innovation, and performance over low cost. Thus, this marketing strategy focuses on continuous product improvement and innovation.
Apple Inc. is a prime example of this concept in action. Its target audience always eagerly anticipates the company’s new releases. Even though there are off-brand products that perform many of the same functions for a lower price, many folks will not compromise just to save money.
Working on this principle alone, however, a marketer could fail to attract those who are also motivated by availability and price.
- The Selling Concept
Marketing on the selling concept entails a focus on getting the consumer to the actual transaction without regard for the customer’s needs or the product quality — a costly tactic. This concept frequently excludes customer satisfaction efforts and doesn’t usually lead to repeat purchases.
The selling concept is centered on the belief that you must convince a customer to buy a product through aggressive marketing of the benefits of the product or service because it isn’t a necessity. An example is soda pop. Ever wonder why you continue to see ads for Coca Cola despite the prevalence of the brand? Everyone knows what Coke has to offer, but it’s widely known that soda lacks nutrients and is bad for your health. Coca Cola knows this, and that’s why they spend astonishing amounts of money pushing their product.
- The Marketing Concept
The marketing concept is based on increasing a company’s ability to compete and achieve maximum profits by marketing the ways in which it offers better value to customers than its competitors. It’s all about knowing the target market, sensing its needs, and meeting them most effectively. Many refer to this as the “customer-first approach.”
Glossier is a recognizable example of this marketing concept. The company understands that many women are unhappy with the way that makeup affects the health of their skin. They also noticed that women are fed up with being told what makeup products to use. With this in mind, Glossier introduced a line of skincare and makeup products that not only nourish the skin but are also easy to use and promote individualism and personal expression with makeup.
- The Societal Concept
The societal marketing concept is an emerging one that emphasizes the welfare of society. It’s based on the idea that marketers have a moral responsibility to market conscientiously to promote what’s good for people over what people may want, regardless of a company’s sales goals. Employees of a company live in the societies they market to, and they should advertise with the best interests of their local community in mind.
The fast-food industry is an example of what the societal concept aims to address. There’s a high societal demand for fast food, but this food is high in fat and sugar and contributes to excess waste. Even though the industry is answering the desires of the modern consumer, it’s hurting our health and detracting from our society’s goal of environmental sustainability.
