What is Marketing?

Marketing is the business function that identifies customer needs and wants, determines which target markets the organization can serve best, and designs appropriate products, services, and programs to serve these markets. However, marketing is much more than just an isolated business function – it is a philosophy that guides the entire organization. The goal of marketing is to create customer satisfaction profitably by building value-laden relationships with important customers. The marketing department cannot accomplish this goal by itself. It must team up closely with other departments in the company and partner with other organizations throughout its entire value-delivery system to provide superior value to customers. Thus, marketing calls upon everyone in the organization to “think customer” and to do all they can to help create and deliver superior customer value and satisfaction.

Although marketing is all around us and we all need to know something about it, most people are surprised to find out that marketing is so widely used. Marketing is used not only by manufacturing companies, wholesalers, and retailers but by all kinds of individuals and organizations. Lawyers, accountants, and doctors use marketing to manage demand for their services. So do hospitals, museums, and performing-arts groups. No politician can get the needed votes and no resort the needed tourists without developing and implementing marketing plans.

People at all levels of these organizations need to know how to define and segment a market and to develop need-satisfying products and services for chosen target markets. They must know how to price their offerings to make them attractive and affordable and how to choose middlemen to make their products available to customers. And they need to know how to advertise and promote products so that customers will know about and want them. Clearly, marketers need a broad range of skills in order to sense, serve, and satisfy consumer needs.

What does the term marketing mean? Many people mistakenly think of market­ing only as selling and promotion. And no wonder - every day, people are bombarded with television commercials, newspaper ads, direct mail, and sales calls. It seems that we cannot escape death, taxes, or selling.

Therefore, many people are surprised to learn that selling is only thetip of the marketing iceberg: It is but one of several marketing functions - and often not the most important one. If the marketer does a good job of identifying consumer needs, developing good products, and pricing, distributing, and promoting them effectively, these goods will sell very easily.

The official American Marketing Association definition of marketing is:

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

Marketing is part of our society. Its influence on society is more than economic. Marketing has a cultural influence on so­ciety. As a cultural phenomenon it can help shape our wants and desires. Marketing is also important to an organization because it helps that organization create successful exchange relationships with potential buyers. For this to take place, the right products must first be produced and then correctly distributed, promoted, and priced. Note that these tasks relate to our definition of marketing.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16