Marketing concept
Marketing concept stands for a philosophy where companies put the customer in the centre of their business. It means that they understand the needs of customers and their satisfaction is company's priority[1]. The basic idea of the concept is to link production and consumption in a way that the company is able to meet the needs of customers within its ability. To achieve that, the company has to handle all kinds of activities, ranging from sales activity, final delivery to after sales service[2]. It shows that this approach in business could be considered as a "conclusive, integrated action plan" that is "guided by the intended marketing objectives, selects appropriate strategies to realize them and determines the necessary marketing tools on their bases"[3], accompanied by controlling and innovation processes. Achieving goals in marketing concept occurs when the company not only determines the needs and wants of the customers, but also takes into account customer's expectations and delivers them their desired satisfaction better than the competition[4].
Stages of the marketing concept
Recommended basic stages of creating the marketing concept include[5]:
- Market analysis,
- Forming marketing strategy,
- Product design and performance,
- Designing marketing tools,
- Marketing controlling and innovation.
Evolvement of the marketing concept
Over the time, the marketing concept has been evolving as the markets were changing. In order to find the best approach to become effective, these concepts were developed in the following order[6]:
- Production Concept
- Product Concept
- Sales Concept
- Marketing Concept
- Societal Marketing Concept
Societal Marketing Concept as a one step further
Societal marketing concept is a relatively new approach. This broadening of the marketing concept questions whether satisfying consumers’ short-run wants is always complemented by companies doing what's best for consumers’ welfare in the long run. This approach suggests that "the marketing strategy should deliver value to the customers in a way that maintains or improves both the consumer’s and society’s well-being"[7], which is why it is often described as "marketing concept expanded with societal orientation"[8]. Societal marketing concept is an idea that the company makes marketing decisions while considering[9]:
- consumers - short-run wants satisfaction,
- company - requirements and profits,
- society - human welfare.
Footnotes
| Marketing concept — recommended articles |
| Consumer orientation — Strategic position — Customer driven — Strategic cost management — Value innovation — Value drivers — Strategic direction — Customer focus — Quality management principles |
References
- Bieger T., (2015) Marketing Concept - The St. Gallen Management Approach, UTB, p. 47
- Kotler Ph., Armstrong G., (2010) Principles of Marketing, Pearson Education, p. 35
- Ranchhod A., Gurau C., (2007) Marketing Strategies: A Contemporary Approach, Pearson Education, p. 4
- Ramaswamy, (2009) Marketing Management, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, p. 26-34
Author: Monika Ptasińska
