Promotion
In order to encourage and persuade the potential customers to buy the goods or services there are various methods to take into consideration. This process involves techniques such as marketing communication (e.g. advertising, branding, packaging, public relations, sales promotion and merchandising). Depending upon the given situation and business, these methods will fluctuate from organisation to organisation.
Place
When determining where the goods or service should be promoted and sold, there are a number of factors which need to be considered. For example, through which outlet should the product be sold and how it will arrive at its ultimate sales destination. Distribution is another key area, which the business needs to look at as well as how far afield they wish to operate i.e. locally, nationally, internationally and also demography.
When formulating a marketing plan, the marketing mix (price, product, promotion and place) are all taken into account to influence and satisfy the buyer or consumer. However, in some quarters, there is the belief that the 4P’s are not sufficient alone for controlling all of the marketing’s activities. Other complimentary approaches, which have been suggested, are people, process and physical evidence.
Relating the concept to a more common example is really quite simple. Take a cake mix for example. All cakes contain eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. However, you can alter the final cake by altering the amounts of mix elements contained in it. So for a sweet cake add more sugar! It is the same with the marketing mix. The offer you make to you customer can be altered by varying the mix elements. So for a high profile brand increase the focus on promotion and desensitize the weight given to price.
The Philosophy Marketing and the Marketing Concept.
The philosophy of marketing is the permeation of customer orientation throughout all facets and areas of an organization. It is driven by senior managers, passionate about delighting their customers. The philosophy of marketing is implemented through the marketing concept.
Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity at all It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of the final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must therefore permeate all areas of the enterprise.
Drucker.
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
The achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition. Jobber. Implementation of the marketing concept [in the 1990’s] requires attention to three basic elements of the marketing concept. These are: Customer orientation; An organization to implement a customer orientation; Long-range customer and societal welfare.
Cohen.
Now that you have been introduced to some definitions of marketing and the marketing concept, remember the important elements contained as follows:
- Marketing focuses on the satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements;
- The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by everyone from within the organization;
- Future needs have to be identified and anticipated;
- There is normally a focus upon profitability, especially in the corporate sector. However, as public sector organizations and not-for-profit organizations adopt the concept of marketing, this need not always be the case.
- More recent definitions recognize the influence of marketing upon society
29th October 2000 Paul Wallis