Marketing Mix Essay Example
Marketing Mix Essay Example

Marketing Mix Essay Example

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  • Pages: 10 (2716 words)
  • Published: March 15, 2018
  • Type: Case Study
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According to Philip Kettle, marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and leveraging value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. It involves identifying unfulfilled needs and desires, quantifying market size and profit potential, determining which segments can be best served by the company, and designing and promoting appropriate products and services. Julie Barrel, Vice President of commerce at Fairway Market, defines marketing as the means through which an organization communicates with its target audience to convey the value of its products and services. However, with the rise of digital media and technology innovations like social media, marketing has evolved to focus on building deeper relationships with customers. According to Renee Blotted, Chief Executive Officer/Founder of Magic Sauce Media, marketing is an ongoing exchange that educates customers over time in order to build trust and create a commu

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nity around products and services.

Marketing is a powerful tool for discovering what captivates people and generates excitement about your brand. It involves engaging customers in the process and fostering strong friendships along the way. In essence, marketing conveys the value of a product or service to customers, encompassing comprehensive strategies and functions for promotion. From a societal perspective, marketing acts as the connection between material needs and economic behaviors by facilitating exchanges and cultivating long-term relationships. It communicates value through positioning products or services to customers. Additionally, marketing is both an organizational function and a series of processes that create, deliver, and communicate value to customers while benefiting shareholders. Marketing can also be defined as the science of selecting target markets through market analysis and segmentation, understanding consumer behavior, and providin

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superior customer value. Ultimately, it encompasses activities related to buying and selling products or services.Chapter 2 focuses on understanding Marketing Management, which involves planning, organizing, directing, motivating, coordinating, and controlling activities within a company. Marketing management is a business discipline that applies marketing techniques and manages a firm's marketing resources and activities. International marketing has become crucial due to globalization. Marketing management involves applying, tracking, and reviewing a company's marketing resources and activities while effectively managing them. The scope of marketing management depends on the company's size and industry. Its goal is to expand the customer base, improve customer perceptions of products/services, and increase overall value attributed to the company.

Marketing Management performs functions like planning, organizing, directing, motivating, coordinating,and controlling in the field of marketing to achieve goals aligned with the organization's objectives.After establishing objectives, the marketing management devises plans for achieving them through sales forecasting, marketing program formulation, and marketing strategies. The implementation of these plans requires organization, which includes collecting and coordinating necessary resources. This involves determining the structure of the marketing organization and assigning duties, responsibilities, and powers to its members. Coordination is also crucial for ensuring harmonious adjustment of various activities within the marketing organization such as sales forecasting, product planning, product development, transportation, and warehousing.

There are different philosophies in marketing management that offer distinct approaches and perspectives. The Production concept focuses on efficiency by producing large quantities of products at low cost. The Product concept emphasizes creating high-quality products that meet customer needs. The Selling concept prioritizes aggressive sales and promotion techniques to sell existing products. In contrast, the marketing concept places customers at the center by striving to understand

their needs and wants. Lastly, the Societal Marketing concept considers the long-term impact of marketing on society and aims to meet both customer and societal needs.

The Holistic Marketing concept is a comprehensive approach that considers all aspects of marketing and the business as a whole. It encompasses Societal Marketing, Green Marketing, and Relationship Marketing, each with their own goals, advantages, and disadvantages.

During the early years of Capitalism, the dominant concept was Production. This concept focused on manufacturing, efficiency, and maximizing profitability through intensive distribution strategies. It was based on Says Law which stated that supply creates its own demand. The idea was that if a product is made, someone will want to buy it. This approach thrived due to a shortage of manufactured goods compared to demand.

In a production-oriented business, the emphasis is on increasing output rather than meeting customer needs. This strategy works well in developing markets where market expansion is crucial for survival and companies can benefit from economies of scale. However, it may result in difficulties delivering quality products and impersonal customer interactions.The production concept of marketing offers the advantage of ensuring a consistent supply of products for manufacturers. They can produce and sell as much as possible at a reasonable price. However, this approach is considered outdated and has limited benefits in today's fast-paced, technology-driven world.

One drawback of the production marketing concept is that it assumes buyers desire easily accessible products available in various locations. Nowadays, businesses invest time in identifying their target market, distribution channels, and pricing strategies before launching a product. It is no longer essential to produce large quantities at low prices to remain competitive.

Nevertheless, the production concept

may still be effective for essential goods rather than luxury items. In such cases, tight budgets are common due to continuously producing a substantial quantity of products. Companies must cover multiple expenses like running manufacturing facilities, paying workers' wages, purchasing supplies or ingredients, packaging, marketing efforts, and more.

Overhead costs associated with the production concept tend to be high, making it unaffordable for many individuals interested in pursuing this type of production model. In today's challenging financial climate obtaining credit is difficult; even entrepreneurs with promising prospects and collateral struggle to secure financing from banks and credit unions.The production model may not be suitable during a "credit crunch" in the economy. On the other hand, the product concept focuses on offering products with better quality, performance, and features compared to standard ones. Marketers who adopt this concept can effectively highlight their product's outstanding qualities because they understand its dynamics. This concept emphasizes that a product's success in the marketplace relies primarily on developing the product itself, including its qualities and specifications. Product concepts should have the ability to sell themselves without excessive emphasis on consumer insights.

Unlike the marketing concept, which prioritizes meeting audience needs regardless of a product's qualities and specifications, the product concept aims to create products that satisfy those needs. One advantage of this approach is that extensive research into the target audience is not necessary. Products believed to "sell themselves" do not require well-planned and specifically driven marketing campaigns, resulting in cost savings for companies. Marketers believe that customers prefer highly engineered, high-quality, and innovative products.

This mindset allows marketers to focus their time and resources on creating the best possible product instead of

catering directly to customer needs. However, certain marketing campaigns may face disadvantages when relying solely on product concepts for promotion purposes.Relying on the product to "sell itself" can result in some audiences purchasing the product without being fully aware of its launch and availability. Not conducting detailed research about the target audience may lead to missed advertising opportunities and neglecting the audience's desires and needs for product specifications.

Another issue associated with the product concept is marketing myopia, where companies prioritize customers' needs by taking innovations and features seriously. This is especially relevant in sectors like electronics and mobile handsets. Apple and Google are notable examples of companies that excel in providing feature-rich, innovative, and diverse application products that customers love. In contrast, Microsoft has faced criticism for lacking innovation and new features in their operating systems, leading to user dissatisfaction.

However, rushing to innovate can also be problematic as products may be seen as experimental with a shorter lifespan in the market. To succeed in following the product concept, companies should focus on their heritage to deliver excellent, feature-rich, and innovative products that satisfy customers.

During World War II, the industrial machine shifted from wartime production to manufacturing consumer products. By the mid-1900s, various industries started experiencing an excess supply compared to demand.The development of sales techniques such as closing, probing, and qualifying was a result of businesses focusing on finding ways to sell their products. In many organizations, the sales department held a prominent position within the company's structure. The success of organizations relied on their ability to persuade consumers to purchase their products through selling and promotion efforts. This was particularly important for unsought goods

like life insurance, vacuum cleaners, and fire-fighting equipment that had strong networks of sales professionals. Companies believed that they needed to effectively communicate their message through advertising and marketing campaigns in order to convince customers to buy their specific product. Without the selling concept, there would not be an advertising industry as quality products would sell themselves. However, influencing consumers through selling is the bottom line in this concept. Strong competition ultimately benefits consumers in the market as companies use advertisements as a medium to reach them and provide detailed information about their products and future benefits.Consumers obtain essential information from these advertisements and sometimes from sales promotions, providing them with more choices to select from. Companies frequently prioritize ads and various sales promotions to attract potential consumers, but this can result in a decrease in product quality. Moreover, the expenses of promotional activities are adjusted along with the product price, causing it to increase over time. In real life, we can observe instances of this trend, such as many males using "All Clear Men," the Head & Shoulders shampoo brand endorsed by football player Ronaldo. He receives a payment of approximately $10 million for this role, excluding the additional costs of airing the commercial on television or placing it in newspapers and billboards. These costs are added to the product price. When purchasing a small bottle, we often question its actual value and production cost; it likely amounts to around 50-60 TX. In today's marketing landscape, buyers have an extensive array of options at their disposal and are bombarded with loud advertising. However, there is a widespread misconception that marketing revolves solely around selling.

The flaw in this perspective is that customers may be persuaded into buying a product but if dissatisfied, they will not recommend it to others. In reality, companies that exclusively focus on selling often fail in their business endeavors.In the 1950s, the era of marketing began and remains relevant today. The concept of marketing recognizes that a company's product design expertise may not always align with customer needs. It also acknowledges that even a skilled sales department cannot effectively sell products that do not meet consumers' requirements. When customers have many options to choose from, they will select the option that best satisfies their needs.

The marketing concept and philosophy propose that organizations should strive to satisfy both customer wants and needs while achieving their own goals. Meeting customer needs and wants is the most effective way to accomplish organizational goals. Therefore, understanding customers before designing and producing products for them is crucial according to the marketing concept.

To achieve sales and profit goals, it is essential to incorporate customer wants and needs into the design and manufacture of products. Marketing research techniques are necessary for understanding customer satisfaction. Smaller organizations may directly communicate with their customers, while larger corporations employ methods like consumer panels, focus groups or third-party research studies. Regardless of the method used, the objective is to enhance knowledge about customers in order to better serve them without losing sight of their needs and wants.While it may seem simple in theory, keeping close to customers can be easily overlooked in practice. Management sometimes becomes too focused on the product and their own desires, overshadowing the wants of the customers, even if they have embraced

the marketing concept. It is important to strive for meeting both customer needs and organizational goals. The marketing concept emphasizes satisfying customer wants and needs while also highlighting the importance of achieving organizational objectives. However, there are situations where conflicts arise between satisfying customers and maintaining profitability. An organization that embraces the marketing concept aims to meet customer needs while making a profit but must find a compromise when customers' desires conflict with profitability. Critics argue that the marketing concept solely focuses on identifying and fulfilling consumer wants and needs, questioning whether consumers desired products like microwave cooking or personal computers before they were introduced. They believe this emphasis stifles innovation. Supporters defend the marketing concept, stating that it does not hinder innovation.They argue that consumers cannot envision every product they may want or need, and the marketing concept recognizes this. Organizations following this concept no longer solely focus on research and development based on limited consumer acceptance. Instead, they are less likely to create groundbreaking products like microwaves and personal computers. Overall, the marketing concept can lead to conflicts between customer desires and business feasibility. Critics express concerns about stifled innovation, while supporters argue that it acknowledges consumers' limited foresight.

However, the concept of need is defined broadly. In the cases of microwaves and personal computers, the need was not specifically for these products but rather a need for faster food preparation and a need for writing and calculating. The microwave and personal computer fulfilled these needs, even though consumers did not initially imagine these specific products.

The marketing concept does not impede creativity and innovation; instead, it encourages them to meet customer needs. Although it

is a relatively new philosophy in business, its evolution began before the Industrial Revolution. As time progressed, customer and business needs also evolved. The product and selling philosophies eventually morphed into the marketing concept and philosophy whose objective is to satisfy customers by guiding organizations to fulfill their wants and needs while also achieving organizational goalsThe societal marketing concept, also known as the green marketing concept, originated from the marketing concept. It entails organizations contributing to society by producing improved products that cater to societal well-being. Some have raised doubts about whether the marketing concept is suitable in a time of environmental degradation, limited resources, population growth, world hunger and poverty, and neglected social services.

Is it always beneficial for consumers and society when companies successfully meet consumer demands? The Societal Marketing concept was introduced in 1972 as a more socially responsible approach to marketing. It countered the prevailing consumerism mindset and was first discussed by Philip Kettle in his article "What consumerism means for marketers" published in the Harvard Business Review Journal. Despite existing social and societal concerns during that period, they were not explicitly incorporated into marketing literature at that time.

During this era, Kettle introduced both the Social Marketing concept, which expanded on the marketing concept by adopting a more explicit social focus, and the notion of "long-run consumer welfare". He emphasized that short-term desires may not align with consumers' long-term interests or benefit society as a whole. The marketing concept often overlooks potential conflicts between consumer wants, nonuser interests, and long-term societal welfare.

In certain cases, firms and industries receive criticism for prioritizing consumer desires over the well-being of society. To address these

situations, a broader concept called societal marketing has emerged. Societal marketing focuses on an organization's understanding and fulfillment of target markets' needs, desires, and interests in a more effective manner compared to competitors while also considering consumer and societal well-being. Marketers are encouraged to incorporate social and ethical considerations into their practices. This approach requires balancing conflicting objectives such as company profits, consumer satisfaction, and public interest. Some companies have successfully adopted this concept and seen significant sales and profit growth as a result.

Another variation of societal marketing is cause-related marketing. This involves companies partnering with one or multiple causes for mutual benefit. By doing so, companies can improve their corporate reputation, increase brand awareness, foster customer loyalty, boost sales, and gain more media coverage. Peering and Thompson see cause-related marketing as an opportunity for companies to demonstrate good corporate citizenship since they believe that customers will increasingly seek out businesses with such ethical behaviors.

Incorporating high-level image attributes into marketing efforts goes beyond rational and emotional benefits for forward-thinking companies. However, some critics argue that cause-related marketing may give consumers the mistaken belief that purchasing products fulfills their philanthropic duties instead of directly donating to causes.

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