2 Marketing Concepts and its Evolution

Neetika Sharma

    1. Learning outcomes:

 

After completing this module, the students will be able to:

  • Understand the meaning of marketing.
  • Understand the evolution of marketing.
  • Understand the development of marketing concept.
  • Understand the new concepts of marketing.

    2. Introduction:

 

The marketing concept come out in the mid- 1950s and challenged the proceeding concepts. For understanding the meaning of marketing, firstly understand the meaning of market .The word Market is derived from the Latin word MARCATUS which means merchandise or trade or a place where business is conducted. Marketing is not only a place of exchange but an arrangement that provides an opportunity of exchanging goods and services for money.

 

Peter Drucker, a leading management theorist, puts it this way –

“There will always one can assume, be need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is to make selling super fulvous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or services fits him and sells it. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to make the product or services available.”

 

Marketing is a broader concept which includes all human activities in relation to the market .it includes product planning and development, buying and assembling, pricing distribution and selling, branding and packaging, standardization and grading , transportation and warehousing, promotion and advertising, financing, risk bearing, analysis of market in terms of its present and potential customers.

 

3. Origin and Meaning of Marketing :

 

In mid 1950s most firms were production oriented i.e. the manufacture emphasized only on production of quality products and then looked for people to purchase them. With the passage of time and technological advancement, the focus shifted to an effective sales force to find that customers for their increasing output. After 1950s the marketing shifted to impressive concern that the manufacturer first looks into consideration the customers wants and then manufactured their goods according to their interest.

 

The American Marketing Association defines

“Marketing as 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 a broader and comprehensive term and it includes set of activities and important resources necessary to direct and facilitate the flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumer. Marketing also availing the right goods and services to the right people, at the right place and at the right time.

 

4. Core Concept of Marketing:

 

Philip Kotler explained the core concept of marketing in his book – “Marketing Management” as,

 

Core Concept of Marketing

 

According to him, every human being has endless needs and demands . There are many products which can satisfy human wants and demands. These wants and demands can be fulfilled by exchange of goods and services . Marketers try to increase demand by making products more attractive , affordable and easily available .Market is a place where goods and services exchanged. Marketing means all those activities that take place in relation to market. Hence , the marketing is a social process by which individual and groups obtain what they need and want through exchanging products and values with others.

 

5. Definitions of Marketing :

 

To understand the concept of marketing different authors define marketing in their own way. Some definitions of Marketing are as follows:

 

5.1 According to Pyle,(Principles of Marketing) – “ Marketing comprises both buying and selling activities.”

5.2 According to Tousley ,Clark and Clark ( Principles of Marketing ) – “Marketing consists of those efforts which affect transfers in the ownership of goods and services and which provide for their physical distribution.”

5.3 According to Paul Mazur – “ Marketing is the delivery of standard of living.”

5.4 According to William J. Stanton – “ Marketing is a total system of interacting business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want satisfying products and services to present and potential customers.”

5.5 According to H.L. Hansen (Marketing )- “Marketing is the process of discovering and translating consumer needs and wants into product and service specifications, creating demand for these products and services and then in turn expanding the demand.”

 

6 Marketing Concepts :

 

To understand the meaning of modern marketing , one should be clear the meaning of marketing concepts. Marketing concepts has two words: Marketing and Concepts. A concept is a philosophy, an attitude and course of thinking. Marketing concept is the philosophy that guides the activities of marketing.

 

6.1 Definitions of Marketing Concept :

 

i) According to Philip Kotler in his book,” Marketing management “states that ,”Marketing concept is customer oriented backed by integrated marketing aimed at generating customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying organizational goals.”

ii) According to Arthur P. Felton, “ Marketing concepts is a corporate state of mind that insists on the integration and coordination of all marketing functions, which in turn are welded with all the other corporate functions, for the basic objective of producing maximum long range corporate profits.”

 

7. Development of Marketing Concept :

 

The history of development of marketing concept is divided into four stages:

7.1    1st Stage : Production – oriented Philosophy (1900 to 1930 )

 

Till 1930‟s , USA was facing shortage of production and at that time the general philosophy of business was ,” produce as much as u can , because there is a limitless market “. In this stage the main focus on increasing the production not the selling. Producers were busy to find and implement the ways and means which increases production. That‟s why this stage is called as production – oriented stage. The assumptions of this philosophy are :

  • Anything that can be produced can be sold.
  • To keep the cost of production is low
  • Produce only certain basic products.

    7.2 2nd Stage : Sales – Oriented Philosophy ( 1930 to 1950 )

 

This stage lies between the periods from Great Depression to the end of World War II. During this stage the main problem was not production, but how to sell it. In this stage the focus of businessmen was shifted towards sales and this stage is called as sales – oriented stage. The main assumptions of this philosophy are:

  • Production of good quality product
  • Finding new buyers of the product
  • Convince the buyers through good selling tactics.

    7.3 3rd Stage : Customer – Oriented Philosophy ( 1950 to 1990)

 

In this stage the needs of the consumer determined and then integrated efforts were taken to produce the goods that satisfied these needs and wants. The main assumptions of the philosophy are :

  • Only desired products by consumer should be produced,
  • Consumer is treated as a king of the market,
  • To integrate all activities to satisfy consumer wants.
  • Focus on long range profits rather than „quick sales‟.

    7.4  4th Stage : Social – Oriented Philosophy (1990 to update )

 

In this stage focus not only consumer satisfaction but also for consumer welfare or social welfare. The assumptions of social orientation philosophy are :

  • Only those products produced which are desired by the consumers,
  • The purpose of the firm is long term profit objective rather than quick sales,
  • The firm should discharge its social responsibilities .

    8. Different Concepts of Marketing :

 

Marketing has been defined by different people in different ways. Some important concepts are as follows:

 

8.1 Production Concept :

 

This is one of the oldest concept of Marketing. According to that concept, producer believed that if the product is good and reasonably priced, it will be most popular if no special marketing efforts are made. In other words, customer prefer those products which are low priced and easily available.

 

According to Philip Kotler , “ the production concept hold that consumer will favour those products that are widely available and low in cost management in production oriented organization concentrate on achieving high production efficiency and Distribution coverage.”

 

This concept is very useful in Banks , General Hospitals and Industries which producing convenience products.

 

8.2 Product Concept :

 

According to this concept, producer believed that by making superior products and improving their quality, they will attract more customer. Superior products are always prefer by the customer.

 

According to Philip kotler, “ The product concept holds that consumer will favour those products that offer the most quality performance and features. Management in these product oriented organizations focus their energy on manufacturing good quality products and improving them over time.

 

This concept is useful for specialized nursing homes, bakeries and Industries which are producing electronic products.

 

8.3 Selling Concept:

 

According to that concept, the customer will not normally purchase the product unless they are convinced through proper advertising, sales promotion and salesmanship efforts. It shows that even the best products cannot have assured sales without the help of sales promotion. So, a marketing concept points out that goods are not bought but they sold with the help of salesmanship efforts, aggressive advertising and intensive sales promotion. This concept change the attitude of marketers as sales – oriented. Some important aspects of selling are:

  • It provides a human touch to business transactions.
  • It enhances the customer‟s confidence in the seller.
  • It provides prospective customers of the product.

    This concept is practiced in the NGO‟s, college admissions, offices and political parties.

 

8.4 Marketing Concept :

 

This concepts focus on the determination of the requirements of potential customers and supplying product to satisfy their requirements. This concept highlights that the primary task of every business enterprise is to study the needs, desires and values of potential customers. The market concept focus on the four points :

  • Target market
  • Customer Needs
  • Integrated Marketing
  • Profit through Customer Satisfaction.

   8.5 Distribution of goods and services concept :

 

This is the traditional concept of marketing. According to this concept, marketing starts when the production process is completed and ends when goods are sold. It has no concern with the pre- production activities and after sales activities. Under this concept the firms are more concerned with maximizing their profits by maximizing their sales.

 

According to American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the performance of business activities that directs the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user.”

 

8.6 Creation of Utility concept :

 

According to this concept marketing is the creation of different types of utilities in goods and make them valuable.

 

According to Richard Buskirk, “ Marketing is an integrated system of action that creates value in goods through the creation of form, place, time and ownership utility.” It means there are four types of utilities: Form Utility, Time utility, Place Utility, Possession Utility.

 

For Example:

  • Product Planning and development create form utility.
  • Transportation and distribution channels create place.
  • Storage and warehousing create time utility.
  • Salesmanship and Advertising create possession utility.

    8.7 Societal Marketing Concept :

 

This is the new and broader concept of marketing. This concept focuses that the organization should first determine the needs, wants and interests of the target markets. It emphasized on producing goods and services which are beneficial for the society.

 

According to Philip Kotler, “ Societal marketing concept is customer- orientated concept backed by integrated marketing aimed at generating customer satisfaction and long-run customer welfare as the key to attaining long – run profitable volume.”

 

This concept is based on the following assumptions:

  • The organization shall offer long – run consumers and public welfare,
  • The mission of an organization is to create satisfied customers,
  • The organization will offer only those products to the customers which are beneficial both to the consumers and the society.

    8.8 Delivery of Standard of living Concept :

 

According to this concept, marketing includes all those activities which create and provide a better standard of living to the society. Consumers are motivated to purchase new products that are easily available in the market. This concept is a customer-oriented concept and is more close to the modern concept of marketing.

 

Acc .to Paul Mazur, “Marketing is the creation and delivery of standard of living to the society.”

 

Acc. to Prof. Malcolm McNair, “Marketing is the creation and delivery of standard of living to the society.”

 

9. Difference between Traditional and Modern Concepts of Marketing:

 

10. Some New Concepts of Marketing :

 

10.1 Relationship concept :

Acc to Philip Kotler- “Relationship marketing is the process of building long–term, trusting, WIN-WIN relationship with customers, distributors, dealers and suppliers. Relationship marketing promises and delivers high quality, efficient services and fair prices to the other party overtime. It is accomplished by strengthening the economic, technical and social ties between members of the two organizations or between the markets and the individual customer.”

 

10.2 Mass Marketing Concept :

Mass Marketing means to sell the mass produced goods. This concept focus on sale of mass production by using tools of mass marketing i.e. mass advertising, mass promotion, mass distribution to large group of customers.

 

10.3 Niche Marketing Concept :

Niche Marketing is a concept where marketer plays a role of specialist in particular segments. For example: Quality Specialist for manage low or high quality of the products, Service Specialist for providing best services which are not provided by other firms, Product line Specialist for availing only one product line or product.

 

10.4 Strategic Marketing Concept :

Strategic marketing is a decision-making process which includes the analysis of internal potential and external environments of a firm in order to efficiently use the various marketing resources to achieve organizational objectives.

 

10.5 Stimulation Marketing Concept :

In this concept a proper stimulation is provided to customers for buying the product. There is no demand in this situation and people are not interested to purchasing the products, so to create demand stimulation is provided.

 

10.6 Synchromarketing Concept :

In this concept there is a state of irregular demand or we can say that demand is more than supply. In other seasons, whatever is supplied goes to waste for want of demand.

 

10.7Demarketing Concept :

Under this concept the demand for a product exceeds the supply and this is also known as overfull demand. the term overfull demand is defined as a situation in which demand exceeds the level at which the marketer feels able or motivated to supply it.

 

10.8Remarketing :

Remarketing is associated with the term “ faltering demand “ , which is invariably for all kinds of products, services, places, organization etc. In this state, there is a decline in demand for the products is possible, if no preventive action is taken to enhance the target market.

 

10.9 Database Marketing Concept :

Database Marketing is a process of collecting and using data on our customers and markets helps us to acquire a better understanding of the market so that we can utilize sales and marketing techniques in a more precise and cost effective way.

 

10.10 Network Marketing :

Network means a strong interdependence between the firms controlling different activities, i.e. firms are components of a value chain . So that is why the success of the value chain is not only dependent on its performance but is closely related to the interactions between all the firms making that chain. According to Kotler ( 1991)- “ Marketing started out as an analysis of how commodities are produced and distributed through an economic system. Subsequently, we became interested in distribution channels themselves and the functions marketers perform. What I think we are witnessing today is a movement away from a focus on exchange in the narrow sense of transaction towards a focus on building value- laden relationships and marketing networks …..”

 

11. Summary :

 

Marketing concepts emerged in mid 1950s and challenged the proceeding concepts. Marketing as 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. The core concepts of Marketing start from needs, wants and demands and ends with market and marketers. Marketing concepts tells us about the philosophy that guides the activities of marketing. These are customer oriented concepts aimed at generating customer satisfaction .The starting stage of Marketing concepts is Production Stage then proceeds for sales oriented, customer oriented and finally social oriented stage. From these stages we know about the development of marketing concepts. The traditional concept of marketing is totally different from the Modern concept of Marketing. Modern concept of marketing focus on customer satisfaction and it is consumer oriented process. It creates and delivers the standard of living to the society and aims at earning profit only by satisfying the consumers. Whereas, the Traditional concept of Marketing focus only on production of commodities. It was based on the idea that a consumer would buy what the seller produces. It is the production Oriented concepts aims at earning maximum profits and does not provide after sale services. There are also some new concepts of marketing which enhances the new practices and opportunities for today‟s competitive world. At last we can say that Marketing is seen as the task of creating, promoting, and delivering goods services to consumers and businesses. Marketers are skilled in stimulating demand for a company‟s products, but this is too limited a view of the tasks marketers performs. Just as production and logistics professional are responsible for supply management, marketers are responsible for demand management. Marketing managers seek to influence the level, timing, and composition of demand to meet the organisation‟s goals. Marketing concepts aims at serving customer demand by offerings right product, in right amount at right place and to right customers.

 

Suggested Readings (Books and Websites)
  1. Ghosh PK, Sales Management-Text and Cases, Himalaya Publishing House, 2010.
  2. Jobber David and Lancester Geoff, Selling and Sales Management, Pearson Education, Sixth Edition.
  3. McCarthy, Jerome E. (1964). Basic Marketing. A Managerial Approach. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
  4. Needham, Dave (1996). Business for Higher Awards. Oxford, England: Heinemann.
  5. Kotler, Philip (2012). Marketing Management. Pearson Education. Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2006), Marketing and Management, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA
  6. McCarthy, Jerome E. (1975)”Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach,” fifth edition, Richard D. Irwin