Marketing Management 1 When learning about marketing the first thing we need to understand is what is marketing.

In laymans words marketing is, a concern addressing the needs of its consumers. Marketing is derived from the needs of these consumers. Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs. When the needs of the consumers are met a basic exchange happens or transaction takes place. There are various types of needs that will be described later in the article. The transaction occurs between 2 or more entities of which some of them play the role of buyers and the others play the role of sellers. The transaction occurs only when both parties come to a general consensus on the terms and conditions set by them. Anything from goods to services events to experiences can be marketed. Marketing follows a logical process.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Analysing market opportunities Selecting target markets Designing marketing strategies Developing marketing programs Managing the marketing effort

And the above process is based on Core Marketing Concepts. The first core concept that was mentioned earlier is the needs of the market. Needs can be classified into 5 types which are Stated needs, Unstated Needs, Real Needs, Delightedness Needs and Secret Needs. Needs become wants when they are directed to a specific segment. Needs can also be classified as 1. Must Be Needs- Presence of these needs is necessary and absence leads to dissatisfied customers. 2. One Dimensional Needs- The level of fulfilment of this need is directly proportional to level of satisfaction. 3. Delight Need- Its a sudden unexpected need when fulfilled leave the customer extremely happy and satisfied but the problem with the same is when delivered regularly it becomes a one dimensional need It is essential to realize what customer base you plan to target. In that case marketers divide the market into segments. Segmentation can be done on the basis of Demographic, Psychographic, and behaviour variances. One of the most major focuses is customer value. Eventually after all the exercises our end target is to gain customer loyalty by ensuring satisfaction of the customer. Marketing channels play a key role as the seller needs to reach the target market through the same, these include Communication Channels, Distribution Channels and service channels.

 A company must understand that Marketing should not be just taken as an activity or a process followed yet the whole company should have a marketing orientation. A holistic approach to marketing should be considered.

Some of the earlier marketing ideas were. The Production Concept- In this concept the seller/manufacturer believes that consumer will prefer products that are widely available and cheap. Production oriented business will be based on achieving high manufacturing efficiency and mass distribution. Product Concept-Is based on the facet the consumer will prefer products that are high on quality and high on performance and innovative features. Selling Concept- Believes in aggressive selling and promotional effort. Marketing Concept- In this case the business shifted to customer centric philosophy. The marketing eventually came back to a need based market where the customers needs and demands were priority one. Holistic Marketing- covers all the complexities of marketing -covers four concepts of marketing which are Integrated Marketing, Internal Marketing, Performance Marketing (Societal) and Relationship Marketing 1. Integrated marketing- Involves the concept of marketing mix which forms the key principles of marketing. They form the 4 PS of marketing which are Product, Promotion, Price, and Place. In the service sector there are 3 additional PS which include People, Processes and Physical Evidence. 2. Internal Marketing-To ensure that the marketing orientation is accepted and adopted by the whole organization from lower level to higher level. 3. Relationship Marketing Done to maintain a healthy relationship between the Heads employees customers and stake holders. 4. Performance Marketing- Deals with returns from business to the society. It helps in building brand recognition and equity as it helps the goodwill of the brand in the market. Activities include Financial Accountability and also CSR initiatives.

Developing a Marketing Oriented Organization

To understand marketing oriented organization we need to understand the other orientations and concepts of the organization which are:-

Production Orientation: Based on the concept the product will cell because of its quality Cost Orientation: Based on the concept that the cheapest product in the market will sell. Capacity Orientation: It means more we make the more profitable it is. Erratic Orientation: Says that you cannot plan ahead due to market fluctuations. Marketing Orientation: Profits can be made on satisfying customer needs.

Market Effectiveness can be analysed by auditing that can be based on simple attributes.