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INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING

"Analysis & impact assessment of the innovative marketing practices of consumer products
(durables ) in rural areas."

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services


may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales,
communications and business development. It generates the strategy
that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business
developments. It is an integrated processthrough which companies
build strongcustomer relationshipsand create valuefor their customers
and for themselves.Marketing is used to identify thecustomer , satisfy
the customer, and keep thecustomer. With the customer as the focus of
its activities,marketing managementis one of the major components of
business management.Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in
developing new markets caused bymature marketsandovercapacitiesin
the last 2-3 centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires
businesses to shift their focus from productiontothe perceived needs
and wants of their customers as the means of staying profitable.The
term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals
dependson knowing the needs and wants of target marketsand
delivering the desiredsatisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy
its organizational objectives, anorganization should anticipate the
needs and wants of consumers and satisfythese more effectively than
competitorsSeveral definitions have been proposed for the term
marketing. Each tends toemphasize different issues. Memorizing a
definition is unlikely to be useful;ultimately, it makes more sense to
thinking of ways to benefit from creating customer value in the most
effective way, subject to ethical and other constraints that one may
have. The 2006 and 2007 definitions offered by theAmerican

Marketing Association are relatively similar, with the 2007 appearinga


bit more concise. Note that the definitions make several points:
A main objective of marketing is to create customer value.
Marketing usually involves an exchange between buyers and sellers
or between other parties.
Marketing has an impact on the firm, its suppliers, its customers,
andothers affected by the firms choices.
Marketing frequently involves enduring relationships between
buyers,sellers, and other parties.
Processes involved include creating, communicating, delivering,
andexchanging offerings.Classical marketing is often described in
terms of the four Ps, which are:
Product what goods or services are offered to customers
Promotion how the producer communicates the value of its
products
Price the value of the exchange between the customer and
producer
Placement how the product is delivered to the customer.A
complete analysis of these categories is often called the Marketing
Mix. Moredetail on these categories can be found in the later entry on
the Marketing Plan.Marketing has both inbound and outbound
activities. Inbound activities largelycentre on discovering the needs
and wants of the potential customers. Thecollective group of all
potential customers is called a market. Categorizing theseneeds into
groups is called segmentation. Organizing markets into
segmentsallows a producer to more logically decide how to best
provide value to thatgroup of potential customers. The analysis of
market segment needs; analysis of existing sales and profitability; the

descriptions, design and introduction of new products; and the


analysis of competitor offerings are also inbound activitiesthat are
important but not often seen by the public.Outbound activities include
all aspects of informing the market that a product isavailable,
delivering that product, and encouraging the purchase decision.
Theseactivities include advertising, promotion, supply chain, sales
support, producttraining, and customer support.To the public, the most
common interaction with marketing is where it touchesthe discipline
of sales in the form of advertising. This interaction leads to acommon
misconception that marketing is only this aspect of promotion.
Instead,it is useful in understanding that:Marketing is a data driven
science. The good marketer will develop the data necessary to define
the customersneeds, develop a good product based on the available
resources, deliver the product in an effective manner to the consumer
at a price that reflects thecustomer value and the profit desired by the
produce. Delivering customer value The central idea behind
marketing is the idea that a firm or other entity willcreate something
of value to one or more customers who, in turn, are willing to pay
enough (or contribute other forms of value) to make the venture
worthwhileconsidering opportunity costs. Value can be created in a
number of differentways. Some firms manufacture basic products
(e.g., bricks) but providerelatively little value above that. Other firms
make products whose tangiblevalue is supplemented by services (e.g.,
a computer manufacturer provides acomputer loaded with software
and provides a warranty, technical support, andsoftware updates). It is
not necessary for a firm to physically handle a product toadd value
e.g., online airline reservation systems add value by (1)
compilinginformation about available flight connections and fares, (2)
allowing the customer to buy a ticket, (3) forwarding billing
information to the airline, and(4) forwarding reservation information
to the customer.It should be noted that value must be examined from
the point of view of thecustomer. Some customer segments value
certain product attributes more thanothers. A very expensive product

relative to others in the category may, in fact,represent great value to a


particular customer segment because the benefitsreceived are seen as
even greater than the sacrifice made (usually in terms of money).
Some segments have very unique and specific desires, and may
valuewhat to some individuals may seem a lower quality item very
highly.Some forms of customer value. The marketing process
involves waysthat value can be created for the customer. Form utility
involves the idea thatthe product is made available to the consumer in
some form that is more usefulthan any commodities that are used to
create it. A customer buys a chair, for example, rather than the wood
and other components used to reate the chair.Thus, the customer
benefits from the specialization that allows the manufacturer to more
efficiently create a chair than the customer could do himself or
herself. Place utility refers to the idea that a product made available to
thecustomer at a preferred location is worth more than one at the place
of manufacture. It is much more convenient for the customer to be
able to buyfood items in a supermarket in his or her neighbourhood
than it is to pick upthese from the farmer. Time utility involves the
idea of having the product madeavailable when needed by the
customer. The customer may buy a turkey a fewdays before Thanks
giving without having to plan to have it available.Intermediaries take
care of the logistics to have the turkeys which are easily perishable
and bulky to store in a freezer available when customers demandthem.
Possession utility involves the idea that the consumer can go to one
storeand obtain a large assortment of goods from different
manufacturers during oneshopping occasion. Supermarkets combine
food and other household items froma number of different suppliers in
one place

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