Principles of Marketing Persuasive Essay
The subject of my final paper is Principles of Marketing. I will cover the following topics: Definition of Marketing; The Marketing Process; An Understanding of the Marketplace; Marketing Strategies; and Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibilities. Marketing defined is the process by which companies create value for customers and build upon that value by forging strong relationships with the customers (Clark, 2007). Marketing involves more than just selling and advertising, but also involves understanding customer needs and developing products and services to satisfy those needs (Clark, 2007).
It consists of those efforts which effect transfers in the ownership of goods and care for their physical distribution (Clark, 2007). Marketing grew out of the division of labor manifested through large scale production and the localization of industry (Clark, 2007). The marketing process involves the following steps: understanding consumers; creating customer values; building strong customer relationships; creating marketing strategy; and capturing the value from customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The first step in the marketing process understands the market place and customer needs (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
During this step the marketer needs to understand the customers’ needs, wants, and demands and then offer products, services, and experiences to satisfy those needs, wants and demands (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). A customers wants are shaped by cultural and individual personality (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). When backed by buying wants become demands (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). To fulfill customers wants and needs, marketers offer a combination of products, information, services, or experiences (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
A market is formed at each point where a specific commodity is concentrated (Clark, 2007). It occurs whenever people decide to satisfy needs and wants through exchange relationships (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Once a marketer gets a grasp on customers’ needs and wants they must develop a marketing strategy. They do this by choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). To design winning strategy managers must know what customers they will serve and how they can best serve those customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
To decide what customers to serve marketers divide customers into segments and select which segments they will go after (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). After deciding which segments they will go after marketers must establish a set of benefits or values it promises to deliver to consumers to satisfy their needs (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). For example the makers of Saab automobiles promise driving performance and excitement: Their slogan is “Born from Jets … you can learn what it’s like to fly without ever leaving the ground (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). ”
To carry out their marketing strategy companies develop marketing concepts (Center For Business Administration, 2007). Marketing Concepts are philosophies that firms use to analyze the needs of their customers and then make decisions to satisfy those needs (Center For Business Administration, 2007) Production – This concept which flourished during the 1920s states that consumer will favor products that are available and highly affordable. The focus of management should be on improving production and distribution efficiency (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
The key questions a firm would ask before making a product were: can we produce it? Can we produce enough of it (Center For Business Administration, 2007)? Product – This concept holds that consumers will favor products that offer the most in quality, performance and innovative features. The marketing strategy focuses on making continuous product improvements (Blackwell, 2009). Selling – This concept flourished during the 1930s. Consumers do not purchase enough of a firm’s products unless it undertakes a large scale selling and promotions effort under this concept. The key questions ask by sales professionals were can we sell the product? Can sell enough of the product? Marketing – This concept states achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the need and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do (Blackwell, 2009). Customer focus and value are the paths to sales and profits under this concept (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Societal Marketing Concept – This concept questions whether the pure marketing concept overlooks possible conflicts between consumer short-run wants and consumer long-run welfare (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
Once a strategy has been decided upon marketer must prepare an integrated marketing plan and program deliver the intended value to customers. To do this marketer develops a set of marketing tools to implement their strategy. These tools are classified into broad groups called the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Once the first three steps in the marketing process have been implemented, marketers begin building customer relationships. This process is by far the most important step in the marketing process.
This concept involves managing detailed information about individual customers and carefully managing this information in order to maximize customer loyalty (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The final step in the marketing process involves capturing value from customers. To do this marketer look toward current and future sales, market shares, and profits (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). When a company creates superior customer value it creates highly satisfied customers who stay loyal and buy more.
One good example is Wal-Mart which stands by its motto of Low prices always. By standing by this philosophy they have been able to continuously make profits annually (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Most of the processes discussed previously are old-age marketing processes. With the invention of the internet marketing has taken on a new meaning. This technology boom has created what is known as the digital age (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The internet has put the marketing world at the tips of our fingers.
In addition to being a valuable tool for customer to access the marketing world it has created exciting new ways to learn about and track customers and create product and services tailored to individual customer needs (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The internet is such a phenomena the number of users worldwide to use it will exceed 1. 8 billion by 2010 (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Once a company has developed its concepts ad began servicing consumers it must define what it stands for. To do this a company develops a mission statement.
Simply put a mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose – what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). When a mission statement is clearly defined it serves as an invisible hand that guides workers in the organization (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Some companies define their mission in product or technology (myopically) terms. A good mission statement should be market oriented and defined in terms of customer needs. Companies should avoid making their mission to narrow or broad when developing a mission statement (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
After developing a mission statement companies must plan their business portfolio. The business portfolio is simply the collection of products and businesses that make up the company (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). After planning their portfolio companies must then analyze them by evaluating these products and businesses. After analyzing the products and businesses a company should place strong resources into their more profitable businesses and phase down or drop the weaker ones (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
After analyzing and implementing the business portfolio companies must then develop strategies for growth and downsizing (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The primary responsibility of marketing is achieving profitable growth for a company. To do this marketing departments must identify, evaluate, and select market opportunities and lay down strategies for capturing them (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The product/market expansion grid is a good tool to use in identifying growth opportunities (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
The success of marketing primarily relies on their relationship with other departments in the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customers, competitors, and various publics. These relationships combine to make up a company’s value delivery network (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Earlier I discussed the boom in internet marketing. This boom has created a new set of social and ethical issues. Because there has been an explosion personal digital data available issues such as online privacy has caused great concern (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
In a market environment a business may be expected to act in way that it perceives to be its own best interest (Encyclopedia Of Business And Finance, 2009). As the economic system becomes more successful at providing wants and needs there will be a greater emphasis on companies adhering to ethical values rather than just simply providing products (Encyclopedia Of Business And Finance, 2009). Ethics are a collection of principles of right conduct that shape the decisions people or organizations make (Encyclopedia Of Business And Finance, 2009).
Good ethical practices in marketing simply means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs to marketing decision making, behavior, and practice in an organization (Encyclopedia Of Business And Finance, 2009). The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other government agencies are charged with enforcing the laws and creating policies to limit unfair marketing practices (Encyclopedia Of Business And Finance, 2009). To exercise their social responsibility and build positive images may companies are linking themselves to worthwhile causes (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
Many companies offer discounts if you purchase their products identified to help a worthy cause (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). For example If you order the City Harvest menu at Le Bernardin in New York City, they will donate $5 to City Harvest, which feeds the hungry (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). Cause related marketing has become a primary function of corporate giving (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The effect marketing has had on the cultural environment has been great. This environment is made up of institutions and other forces that a affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
For marketers to be successful they must cultural habits affect the market they are targeting. They want to predict cultural shifts in order to spot new opportunities or threats (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). In order to product superior customer value and satisfaction companies must have information at almost every turn (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). They do this by developing a marketing information system which consists of people, equipment, and procedure to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).
The information system serves the company’s marketing and other managers primarily (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). A good marketing information system balances the information users would like to have against what they really need and what is feasible (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). The role of marketers has always been to interact frequently with the public. During this interaction marketers create a relationship with the public in which marketers are responsible for bringing in revenue to organization in the communities they service (Know This Marketing, 2009).
Put in broader terms marketing offers many benefits to society. The benefits include developing products that satisfy need to include enhancing the quality of life of society; creating a competitive environment that helps in lower the price of goods; developing product distribution systems that offer access to products to a large number of customers and geographic regions; building a demand for items which require organizations to expand their labor force; and offering techniques that have the ability to convey messages that can change societal behavior in a positive.
One such message is anti-smoking advertising (Know This Marketing, 2009). In summary marketing consists of the strategies and tactics used to identify, create, and maintain satisfying relationships with customers that result in value for both the customer and the marketer (Know This Marketing, 2009). The marketing process is broken down into five concepts; understanding the marketplace, designing customer driven strategy, constructing and integrated marketing program, building profitable customer relationship, and capturing customer value.
Marketing has evolved throughout the years from old style marketing t digital age marketing that includes the phenomena known as the internet (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). In order to be successful companies must enlist the practices described in the marketing process and maintain strong ethical, social, and cultural practices (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008). .
References
Blackwell, J. (2009). Principles Of Marketing. Retrieved from Principles Of Marketing: http://www. evancarmichael. com/Sales/1069/Principles-of-Marketing. html Center For Business Administration. (2007). The Marketing Concept. Retrieved from The Markting Concept: http://www. netmba. com/marketing/concept/ Clark, F. (2007). Principles Of Marketing. Retrieved from Principles Of Marketing: www. http://books. google. com/books? d=eI1BAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=principles+of+marketing&source=bl&ots=PGFusAjQRO&sig=qs9V_XB-bi_u1uuGZgg4nuIbUPM&hl=en&ei=-TvASt7RKZbi8AaN7ZTBAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#v=onepage&q=&f=false Encyclopedia Of Business And Finance. (2009). Ethics In Marketing. Retrieved from eNotes: http://www. enotes. com/business-finance-encyclopedia/ethics-marketing Know This Marketing. (2009). The Role Of Marketing. Retrieved from Know This Dot Com: http://www. knowthis. com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/what-is-marketing/role-of-marketing/ Kotler, P. , & Armstrong, G. (2008). Principles Of Marketing. Pearson Prentice Hall.
