Nowadays there are many examples of what a market really is. We find market stalls which we view on English soaps such as Eastenders selling items from cheap clothing to fruit and veg, there are also stock markets and flea markets. A market is basically a place where an exchange takes place between a seller and buyer. The four leading market groups are; Consumers, business to business, institutional and reseller.
(The above information on markets has been found from )
The Marketing Concept.
Before a business is able to understand the marketing concept they have to ask themselves, what is it that customers want? A business will need to ask itself whether or not they can develop it whilst the customers still want it and the last most important statement, how can they keep their customers happy? The marketing concept is basically a response to their perceptive customers which is to focus on a customers needs and wants before they even build up their product, to be well aware of how the company intends on satisfying these needs and wants and once they’ve decided on this, the business then needs to decide on how they intend on keeping their customers fully satisfied. Many businesses have many ways of adapting to the marketing strategy such as setting up different marketing departments all with the same obvious intention of satisfying their customers. When companies fail to do this the sweet smell of money doesn’t come rolling in. So far in every site I’ve based my research on they have all said that the marketing concept is a philosophy. On the site Marketingteacher.com I have found the appendices below which will explain what the marketing concept is about:
“…The marketing concept is a philosophy. It makes the customer, and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the focal point of all business activities. It is driven by senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers…”
On the same site I have found another saying by Barwell:
This customer focused philosophy is known as the 'marketing concept'. The marketing concept is a philosophy, not a system of marketing or an organizational structure. It is founded on the belief that profitable sales and satisfactory returns on investment can only be achieved by identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs and desires.
Barwell
If a business is market orientated it generally means that the firm, which permits the needs and wants of customers and possible new customers to oblige the entire firm's tactical decisions. A firm can find out what it is that their general public want by doing market research.
Market research is normally the job of the marketing department in a business that is making a product or providing a service to be aware of the different classifications of consumer – the segmentation of the market and in order to find out what divides them would involve doing surveys, questionnaires, polls, focus groups and many other methods. By doing market research they can also understand the ages of the customers and consumers, their income patterns and their attitudes for example it may be useful to understand why certain products stop selling well and other products suddenly take off. Market research engages with collecting information about what is happening in the mind of the consumers and in the market segment which the consumer belongs to. Besides understanding their consumers a business can benefit from market research as it improves the efficiency of their sales.
The history of the marketing concept dates back to the late 1960- early 1970 and began at the Harvard University, some progressive businesses also began accepting the market concept. The sales concept began before the market concept and took place around mid 1950’s until early 1970. The production concept occurred in mid 1950’s. Once all these concepts had been arisen most businesses became market driven and were now much more customer focused. All these three methods of a business are not only traditional but they are used by many businesses to generate sales.
Marketing orientation engages with many areas such as the product and the production of the product (the production concept) and the selling (the sales concept).
The sales concept, which cropped up before marketing orientation and after the production orientation period, was when businesses began concentrating on their techniques in order to sell their product or service. This could be by promoting their product or service by advertising. Production orientation was when businesses began focusing all their awareness’s into the production, into the manufacturing of the product and the efficiency of the product. At the time when people became aware of the production concept it became considerably easy to sell products as all the products being sold at were of basic necessities which had a reasonably high point of displeased demand.
The definitions I have come across in every site I have visited and every book I have read so far say the same thing which is that marketing concept is all about the customer. If a customer isn’t happy then a customer loses the will to remain faithful causing the business to fail and remain successful. If a company fails to meet it’s capabilities with the customers wants then a company will then need to find ways of avoiding the humiliation of bankruptcy.
http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theory.php?tID=211
As you can see in the above graph nowadays more and more businesses are all using the above schemes to run their businesses efficiently. I have already explained what market research is and how a business benefits from it. Market testing is when the general public is surveyed and interviewed on whether a certain product should be brought into the market. I have found a paragraph on the internet which explains perfectly what customer focus really is;
“…The concept that the customer is the only person qualified to specify what Quality means. This leads to detailed analyses of who are the customers, what are their needs, what features (or new) are required of our products/services, how do customers rate our products/services versus our competitors and why, how can we keep our customers satisfied?”
Once a firm has done its market research it then needs to apply its market research to its product and yet constantly carry out more market research in order to detect what the customers really think of the new product. If the product proves to be successful then commence on launching the product. Once the product has been launched market research is still needed for feedback on what could be improved and what needs to be improved.
Target Marketing
Target Marketing is making all marketing judgments a focal point on a specified collection of people who you want to reach.
Target markets are normally different types of buyers who are sharing similar common needs, desires and characteristics that a corporation chooses on serving. A business will normally need to recognize their target market sequentially to systematize its responsibilities and manage with the normal demands of this particular marketplace. Target marketing can be very beneficial to a business as it outlines the basis of a modern marketing strategy. By using the modern marketing strategy it's beneficial as it helps a business be more capable and successful on focusing on their chosen target market that they wish to please.
Not only can target marketing benefit the business but it can also be beneficial for the customers that a business has chosen on pleasing as they are presented with their wanted articles which carefully meets their needs and wants. In order to satisfy these desires a business has to assess the different segments which are available and decide how many to please and which ones to serve. As it's not simple to segment a market a company will once again need to do market research the different variables of the markets and combine with other variables to find its perfect target market.
As the buying public is not one single market and is made up of many different market segments- different types of consumers. Businesses need to classify consumers into market segments so that they can direct their marketing effort to the right people. E.g. there would be very little point in trying to sell an expensive holiday to people who cannot afford it. There are many variables which are now used to segment and pick a certain market such as a particular age that a business may have decided on serving, a certain sex, a certain region of the world may be more valuable in serving, a certain race and religion, people who have a definite occupation can be advantageous, a business may decide to look at a persons product usage or a particular market's desired profit, etc. The amount of target markets a business manages to recognise all proves the marketing strategist's skills on being able to be creative in recognising the segments. Target marketing can be extremely imperative for different shops and products. Target marketing lies on the theory that dissimilarity among customers is associated with the dissimilarity of the obtaining behaviour. The marketing management is when all the above steps have been considered and applied.
Marketing Process
The marketing process in every business which involves marketing consists of the four above complicated tactics.
Situation Analysis:
The situation analysis is a systematic study of the basic environment and position of the business and the foundation for recognizing the prospect to please the displeased customers needs and wants. In order to recognize opportunities and chances the business must be able to under their own strengths and weaknesses in what they can and can’t achieve. This study can also be looked at as a study of the awareness of the internal and external factors of the business on the whole. These factors have already affected many businesses who never really understood their positions in the market.
This study ought to include history of business aims and objectives, nearby scenarios as well as future phases. This study should show the exactness of how these aims and objectives have been achieved and how they have developed into the present situation and also of how they intend on accomplishing many more things in the future. Having a forecast of the businesses future aspects can decrease any future disappointment and failure.
If ever a business should find gaps within the market and what’s not being offered to their standards then they should see it as a chance to initiate their pleasing products to the displeased consumers.
In order to recognize the displeased customers they must look at 5 key areas they need to settle on, this is known as the 5C Analysis:
- Customers
- Company
- Competitors
- Climate
- Collaborators
The company studies company weaknesses, strengths and internal factors which affect the business. A business also needs to have a PEST analysis which is an abbreviation for:
- Political analysis
- Economic analysis
- Social analysis
- Technological analysis
The last useful analysis is known as a SWOT analysis which is also an abbreviation for:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats.
The above 4 analysis look at strengths of the business and their weaknesses which are useful to know as it could save them time and money. Their opportunities and threats analysis are useful to be aware of as they can seize any opportunities and overcome any threats.
Marketing Strategy
Once businesses have overcome all their obstacles and have managed to stay ahead with their plan of satisfying their possible customers and consumers they then need to segment its market, target their market then place it’s product into the selected market and then promote it’s price which I have already explained.
Marketing mix decisions
The marketing is yet to be explained as I have explained it in detail in the paragraphs to come.
Once all the above have been conquered, a detailed and successful marketing plan should be developing and the new product seems to be doing flourishing well in the market then the business should be ¾ ahead to complete the marketing plan. Obviously market research is still necessary as feedback is still needed to observe any changes in the market and if there are then the marketing mix needs to be altered in anyway possible to the changes. Once it has been decided that a business is making changes then it needs to attract the public eye of the change, it should then be clear to the business to redesign and construct a fresh product which will need to go through the marketing process cycle whenever gaps and unsatisfied customers are present.
Marketing Mix
When Neil H. Borden published a 1964 article called "The concept of the marketing mix" he popularized the term "marketing mix." The ingredients which were said to be included in Borden's marketing mix were first known as many things such as, planning, branding, pricing, distribution, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing and analysis. It was E. Jerome McCarthy who later had set these ingredients into four classes which today are famously known as the 4 P's of marketing. The marketing process occupies many aspects of planning such as establishing a good price which offers more than the price your competition is promoting, promoting your product or services better than your competition and distributing goods and inspiration superior to your competition in order to create better exchange than what your competition is receiving.
The 4 P's of marketing are as follows:
- Product
- Price
- Place (also known as distribution)
- Promotion
All marketing judgments commonly fall into the above classes. These 4 P's help a marketing come to conclusions which are all based around the 4 P's to the customer in the target market chosen to produce an optimistic feedback. The marketing mix structure was especially helpful around the time the marketing concept was being established and even today many marketing textbook which I have been using have also been using the framework of the 4 P's to inform how marketing actually works and although many people have tried to add a fifth P it hasn't been so successful as the simplicity of the 4 P's are what makes it such a straightforward strategy.
Product
Products are goods or services which are provided by a business. Goods are physical products like a car for example and a service is a non-physical product like a hair cut or a train journey. The product is said to be the most important of the four as it has substantial and insubstantial benefits. There are many decisions which have to be made in order for the product to hit the shops, these are:
A name which is catchy, bold and memorable has to be selected by the company.
A style which is unique and out of the ordinary.
The quality of a product has to be to a high standard otherwise once your customers find out you are selling faulty goods not only will you have a lawsuit onto yourself but it's very hard to start a new business once you've lost the trust of your customers.
A safe product (such as using caution labels to warn parents of sharp objects in toys, warn your customers of nut traces etc) is also an obligation.
There are many more examples other than the above a business must be prepared to analyse when producing a product.
Price
Some companies believe that having a low price attracts many more customers but this is not always true as having a low price will not cover its costs and will also force customers to believe that there is something wrong with the product being promoted. If the price for your product is too high then what could've been possible customers will steer clear of purchasing the product.
Promotion
Most people assume that that promotion is the same as advertising; in some ways this is true as it plays a certain role in promotion but the overall promotion process involves the Marketing Department of a business in a number of different stages such as advertising which is to inform the public in as many ways possible such as handing leaflets out, advertising using internet pop-ups, advertising using newspapers, publicity in the media, special offers, sponsorships and television. Presenting your product in ways which will attract customers is also favourable as well as creating an image of the product at the point of sales. Promotion is important for the reason that although a business has a product the customers aren't generally going to be interested if they don't know about the product.
Place
The place which is also known as the distribution is important for the production of your business to be successful as a business must be aware of the locations where the production will be most successful, for example it'd be more ideal to sell swimwear and bikini's in places like Ibiza, Hawaii, and Dubai all year round rather than in the United Kingdom.
