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LIST OF SIX MARKETING CONCEPTS Following are the six concepts of marketing ??? Production concept ??? Product concept ??? Selling concept ??? Marketing concept ??? Societal marketing concept ??? Holistic marketing concept THE PRODUCTION CONCEPT: DEFINITION BY KOTLER: “It is the idea that customers will favor products that are available and highly affordable and that the organization should therefore focus on improving production and distribution efficiency. ” EXPLANATION: This concept is the oldest of the concepts in business. It holds that consumers will prefer products that are widely available and inexpensive.
Managers focusing on this concept concentrate on achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and mass distribution. They assume that consumers are more interested in product availability and low prices. This concept makes sense in developing countries, where consumers are more interested in obtaining the product than in its features. This happens when the??demand is more??than the??supply. EXAMPLE: Computer maker Lenovo dominates the highly competitive, price sensitive Chinese PC market through low labor costs, high production efficiency and mass distribution.
THE PRODUCT CONCEPT: DEFINITION BY KOTLER: “The idea that consumers will favor products that offer the most quality, performance and features and that the organization should therefore devote its energy to making its continuous product improvements. ” EXPLANATION: This is the next step of evolution of marketing concepts. It depicts that customers will go for those products which offer quality, utility, features, performance, value, benefits, etc. So the marketers must improve the products in an innovative way & continuously.
This is more often accompanied by a suitable pricing, distribution, promotion (all the 4Ps of marketing) program. EXAMPLE: Consumers may??prefer airplanes??rather than??trains or??modern digital cameras??instead of the??non digital??camera using film. THE SELLING CONCEPT: KOTLER DEFINITION: “This is the idea that the consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large scale selling and promotion efforts. ” EXPLANATION: This concept involves aggressive selling and promotional effort. The purpose of marketing is to sell more stuff to more people more often for more money in order to make more profit”. This kind of marketing is practiced for goods & services which buyers normally don’t like to buy, like insurance, dictionaries, encyclopedia, etc. The aim of the marketers is to sell what they produce, rather than make what the market wants. EXAMPLE: The selling concept is practiced with unsought goods, those that buyers do not normally think of buying, such as insurance or blood donations. THE MARKETING CONCEPT: KOTLER DEFINITION: The marketing management philosophy that holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do. ” EXPLANATION: This concept was evolved in the 1950s, and for the first time the attention was shifted to Customers. Instead of concentrating on the Products / Production / Selling, the business became “Customer Oriented”. Instead of finding the right customer for the product, the marketer now has to find the right product for the customer. Under this concept, customer focus and value are the paths to sales and profits.
EXAMPLE: Today almost every??company??is following??the marketing concept??to better satisfy the customer and to increase its profitability. We can take an example of Head and Shoulders shampoo. It first came in a standard packing and formula. However, with the passage of time the company realized the needs of the consumers and modified their product and brought in variety in their shampoo line. THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT KOTLER DEFINITION: “The idea that the company’s marketing decisions should consider consumer’s wants, the company’s requirements, consumer’s long-run interests and society’s long-run interests. EXPLANATION: Societal concept focuses on??consumer??needs and wants, profits??and??also the??social??welfare. This helps in improving the image of the company. This concept holds that the organization’s task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors Additionally, it holds that this all must be done in a way that maintains and improves consumer’s and the society’s well-being. EXAMPLE:
Company known for following the societal marketing concept: Johnson & Johnson THE HOLISTIC MARKETING CONCEPT: KOTLER DEFINITION: “The Holistic Marketing concept is based on the development, design and implementation of marketing programs, processes and activities that recognize their breadth and interdependencies. It is thus an approach that attempts to recognize and reconcile the scope and complexities of marketing activities. ” EXPLANATION: In the new marketing environment, companies wonder how to operate & compete.
Marketers in the current age are increasingly recognizing the need to have a more complete & cohesive approach that goes beyond traditional application of marketing concepts. This concept is based on the development, design and implementation of marketing programs, processes and activities that recognize their breadth and inter-dependencies. Holistic Marketing recognizes that “everything matters” with marketing – and that a broad integrated perspective is often necessary. The main components of Holistic Marketing are: a. Integrated Marketing, b.
Internal Marketing, c. Relationship Marketing, d. Social Responsibility Marketing COMPONENTS: INTEGRATED MARKETING One of the major tasks of marketers is to “integrate” all the marketing activities & programs like “creating”, “communicating” & “delivering” value to the customers. The marketing program consists of various decisions on value-enhancing marketing activities that can be used. The Famous Marketing Mix ??? the Four Ps, as devised by McCarthy constitute the traditional marketing activities in four broad groups as given below in details: 1.
Products ??? Design, Features, Brand Name, Models, Style, Appearance, Quality, Warranty, Package?? 2. Price ??? Pricing Policies, List Price, Margins, Discounts, Rebates, Terms of Delivery, Payment Terms,??and Resale Price. 3. Place ??? Channels of Distribution, Physical Distribution (transportation, warehousing, inventory levels, order processing, etc. ) 4. Promotion ??? Personal Selling, Quality of Sales Force, and Marketing Communications ??? Advertising, sales promotions, publicity & public relations, direct & interactive marketing.
Internal Marketing Internal marketing ensures that everyone in the organization adopts appropriate marketing principles and the top management should see it happen. This is the management task of hiring, training & motivating the employees to serve the customers well. Smart & successful companies understand that there is as much activity outside the company as inside. For it makes no sense to promise excellent services before the company’s service staff is ready to provide. Relationship Marketing
The development of deep relationships with all the people or firms involved directly or indirectly in the firm’s marketing activities is a key goal of marketing. This is the concept of Relationship marketing ??? it aims at building mutually satisfying long-term relationships with customers, financiers, suppliers, distributors & of course the stakeholders, in order to earn & retain their business. It also builds strong economic, technical & social binding amongst the parties. There are four key constituents of marketing are : 1. Customers 2. Employees 3.
Marketing Partners: Channels, Suppliers, Distributors, Dealers, Retailers, and Agencies. 4. Financial Community: Shareholders, Stakeholders, Financiers, Investors, Analysts, etc. 5. Another key constituent is the Society: well-wishers, scientists, professors, environmentalists. Social Responsibility Marketing Holistic marketing incorporates social responsibility marketing. This involves broader concerns of the society at large, like social, legal, ethical & environmental in the context of marketing activities. Companies operate in a society, and so do their customers.
It requires that marketers carefully consider the role they are playing in terms of social welfare. Companies need to evaluate whether they are truly practicing ethical & socially responsible marketing. SUMMARY The company following the production concept believes that it should??produce??goods??efficiently??and try??to??bring down??the??prices??so that??products??become??affordable for the consumers. The firm undertakes??mass production??and makes an effort to improve??the??distribution. According to the product concept, people??like??products which??are very good??in terms of??performance??and??quality.
The company aims at??making a continuous??effort towards??product improvement??and??innovation. According to selling concept the company’s??entire focus is on selling??and hence??making a??lot of sales. The selling effort is backed by serious??promotional activities??and??aggressive advertising. The company??does not bother about the market demand; they just??want to sell??what??they produce. The marketing concept is concerned with??first??identifying??the consumer??needs??and then making??products??that give maximum customer??satisfaction.
If the customers are??satisfied??with the product??they will??buy it again and again??and??tell other people??about it also. The Societal marketing concept seems to be the best marketing concept as this gives??importance??to the??society’s well being, consumer interests and welfare. The Holistic concept is based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognizes their breadth and interdependencies. Holistic marketing recognizes that “everything matters” with marketing and that a broad, integrated perspective is often necessary.