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What is a "Marketing Concept", its origin and philosophy?

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Question added by Ghada Eweda , Medical sales hospital representative , Pfizer pharmaceutical Plc.
Date Posted: 2016/06/10
Ghada Eweda
by Ghada Eweda , Medical sales hospital representative , Pfizer pharmaceutical Plc.

The Marketing Concept

The marketing concept is the philosophy that firms should analyze the needs of their customers and then make decisions to satisfy those needs, better than the competition. Today most firms have adopted the marketing concept, but this has not always been the case.

In 1776 in The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote that the needs of producers should be considered only with regard to meeting the needs of consumers. While this philosophy is consistent with the marketing concept, it would not be adopted widely until nearly 200 years later.

To better understand the marketing concept, it is worthwhile to put it in perspective by reviewing other philosophies that once were predominant. While these alternative concepts prevailed during different historical time frames, they are not restricted to those periods and are still practiced by some firms today.

The Production Concept

The production concept prevailed from the time of the industrial revolution until the early 1920's. The production concept was the idea that a firm should focus on those products that it could produce most efficiently and that the creation of a supply of low-cost products would in and of itself create the demand for the products. The key questions that a firm would ask before producing a product were:

  • Can we produce the product?
  • Can we produce enough of it?

At the time, the production concept worked fairly well because the goods that were produced were largely those of basic necessity and there was a relatively high level of unfulfilled demand. Virtually everything that could be produced was sold easily by a sales team whose job it was simply to execute transactions at a price determined by the cost of production. The production concept prevailed into the late 1920's.

The Sales Concept

By the early 1930's however, mass production had become commonplace, competition had increased, and there was little unfulfilled demand. Around this time, firms began to practice the sales concept (or selling concept), under which companies not only would produce the products, but also would try to convince customers to buy them through advertising and personal selling. Before producing a product, the key questions were:

  • Can we sell the product?
  • Can we charge enough for it?

The sales concept paid little attention to whether the product actually was needed; the goal simply was to beat the competition to the sale with little regard to customer satisfaction. Marketing was a function that was performed after the product was developed and produced, and many people came to associate marketing with hard selling. Even today, many people use the word "marketing" when they really mean sales.

The Marketing Concept

After World War II, the variety of products increased and hard selling no longer could be relied upon to generate sales. With increased discretionary income, customers could afford to be selective and buy only those products that precisely met their changing needs, and these needs were not immediately obvious. The key questions became:

  • What do customers want?
  • Can we develop it while they still want it?
  • How can we keep our customers satisfied?

In response to these discerning customers, firms began to adopt the marketing concept, which involves:

  • Focusing on customer needs before developing the product
  • Aligning all functions of the company to focus on those needs
  • Realizing a profit by successfully satisfying customer needs over the long-term

When firms first began to adopt the marketing concept, they typically set up separate marketing departments whose objective it was to satisfy customer needs. Often these departments were sales departments with expanded responsibilities. While this expanded sales department structure can be found in some companies today, many firms have structured themselves into marketing organizations having a company-wide customer focus. Since the entire organization exists to satisfy customer needs, nobody can neglect a customer issue by declaring it a "marketing problem" - everybody must be concerned with customer satisfaction.

The marketing concept relies upon marketing research to define market segments, their size, and their needs. To satisfy those needs, the marketing team makes decisions about the controllable parameters of the marketing mix.

 

 

 

georgei assi
by georgei assi , مدير حسابات , المجموعة السورية

The modern concept of marketing is focused on the end consumer or industrial buyer and is considered the starting point in the marketing business. According to the modern concept of marketing, efforts related precede production, which begins studies of various marketing and research aimed at detecting tendencies and tastes of end consumers and industrial users in order to create congruence between consumer (his wishes, inclinations and tastes, and income) on the one hand, and Item (characteristics) On the other hand.

Genesis and evolution of marketing:

Marketing found a long time ago but he knew balm barter where there was a specific and well-known market to everyone where barter and exchange of agricultural and handicraft products are in progress. With the emergence of money, there is no longer a trade-off but turned out to be the process of buying and selling by circulating in the country and in certain markets currencies. In football was limited to a simple process of selling and buying are the product buyer and seller, in specific markets, and there was no marketing activity in the sense of the word.

And it continued to do so that trade between the countries began to cross land and sea, so she commercial flights between East and West and between China and India, the Middle East and Europe, and between the Levant and Hijaz and Yemen. In addition, there was a trade in Central centuries popular and successful is the gun trade.

 At present, the development of a marketing concept that entered into a new stage is the stage of the social concept of marketing, which emphasizes that marketing activity is no longer free to be planned and promoted as he pleases without taking into account the interests of society and its citizens.

Marketing is that it seeks to achieve the interests and welfare of the community and consumers, which, by satisfying their needs and desires. And the organizations, and through its marketing activities, to assume their responsibility in this area and are trying to reconcile the three basic considerations: satisfy the needs and desires of consumers, making profits, and taking into account the interests and welfare of the community by promoting sincere and appropriate and fair competition prices. There is no doubt that the organization take care of that shopping for themselves the best way, because the marketing strategies in the area of ​​promoting their products based on consumer interest and taking into account the interests and not to exploit it, and will not damage the interests of the community in which the organization Kalgsh commercial and manipulate live, for example.

Omar Saad Ibrahem Alhamadani
by Omar Saad Ibrahem Alhamadani , Snr. HR & Finance Officer , Sarri Zawetta Company

Thanks

I support Mrs. Ghada's Answer .

Sayed Fathy
by Sayed Fathy , Manager , 1 and 1 Travel

Thanks for the kind invitation Ms. Ghada and totally agree on your answer. 

Regards

Farhana Siddique Fari
by Farhana Siddique Fari , Coordinator , Coordinator at DFA, Dr Fazeela Abbasi, Advanced Skin, Laser & Hair Institute, Islamabad.

Thanks for the invitation My Dear Ghada.

A Smart Question with Well-Explained Answers; nothing to add.

Mohamed Helal
by Mohamed Helal , Project Manager , GROUP CONSULT INTERNATIONAL

 apologizing its not my speciality ,I prefer to leave answers to Experts. Thanks for Your kind Invitation.

Walid Ismail Elrahel  Meiri
by Walid Ismail Elrahel Meiri , Administrative Accountant and Public Relations , Musa Ali Altayeb for Import and Export

Although this philosophy had been taking shape for nearly seven years, it was not articulated until it appeared in the 1952 annual report of General Electric. One widely used definition evolving from the report's description is "an organization-wide consumer orientation with the objective of achieving long-range profitability." As this definition implies, there are three parts to the marketing concept. They are: (1) A customer focus: The marketing concept begins with the premise that the starting point for business decisions is the customer's needs and wants. Those needs and wants are carefully researched and thoroughly analyzed. Then, goods and services are identified and/or developed to satisfy them. In many cases, a consumer's stated needs and desires are limited by a very narrow perception of what is possible. Firms often need to determine what "futuristic" products and services would satisfy latent needs and wants of which consumers are not yet aware. Many popular products such as the iPods, cell phones with cameras, and singing birthday cards were not envisioned by consumers twenty years ago. To successfully implement the marketing concept an organization must research the short-term desires and the long-term needs and wants of their potential customers. (2) Long-term organizational success: The marketing concept dictates that goods and services made available by a business must be produced and marketed so as to meet the long-term goals of the organization. In most businesses this would include the profit objective that is integral to the survival and growth of a business. Without it, the business would not be available to serve the needs and wants of customers. Other objectives, however, may include market share, sales growth, or new product success. Many successful nonprofit organizations, such as the Red Cross, effectively use the marketing concept. (3) A total company effort: Effective implementation of the marketing concept requires involvement of employees from all departments at all levels of the business. Training must be provided and employees must be motivated to achieve the common goals of maximum customer satisfaction and the long-term organizational objectives.

I agree with Mrs. Ghada answers

مها شرف
by مها شرف , معلمة لغة عربية , وزارة التربية السورية

I agree with M's Ghada answer's. Thanks for the invitation...

Francis Jr Simbajon
by Francis Jr Simbajon , Associate Marketer , C-ONE TRADING CORPORATION

I absolutely agreed with Ms Ghada's specific answer.

Thank you so much for the invitation!

Nadjib RABAHI
by Nadjib RABAHI , Freelancer , My own account

Marketing is an original American term from the word market, meeting point of supply and demand.

Marketing is the way to design and carry out all the activities whose purpose is the creation and adaptation of products and services, business strategy, the implementation of the necessary means for the implementation of this strategy.

To clarify the concept of marketing applied to organizations. Kolter proposes the term "marketing management" which he defines as follows:

"Marketing-management is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of programs designed to carry out the desired exchanges with target markets in order to achieve the objectives of an organization. It is essentially based on the design of an offer in terms of needs and the elaboration of a price, communication, and distribution, able to inform, motivate and serve the market. "

 

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