Understanding Marketing: Definition, Concepts, and Orientation Explained

 Marketing Definition 

Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for the purpose of selling the product or service. It is a critical business function for attracting customers. Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long term relationships. 

It is the process of communicating the value of a product or service through positioning to customers. It can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and managing customer relationships in ways that also benefit the organization and its shareholders. 

Marketing is the science of choosing target markets through market analysis and market segmentation, as well as understanding consumer buying behavior and providing superior customer value.

1. The American Marketing Association defines Marketing is 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.
2. Philip Kotler defines marketing as Satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process.

In simple terminology, marketing as you, every human being has some needs, wants and demands such as food, shelter, car etc. there is requirement of some products, it may be goods, services or any other things that fulfil the human need and wants.

Marketing Concept or Marketing Orientation 

Marketing orientation starts with the customer and the company strives to learn customer needs and wants, develops appropriate products or services to satisfy the customer. With the passage of time, more knowledge, and experience, customers increasingly seemed unwilling to be persuaded. More and more companies found that determining what customers wanted was a must before making a product, rather than producing products first and then persuading them to buy. 

The key questions became: 

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

Fundamental Marketing Concept: Needs, Wants, and Demands

A marketer must clearly understand the target market’s needs, wants, and demands, as these form the foundation of all marketing activities. They might seem similar, but they're actually different, so the 4 P's (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) are built on them.

1. Needs

Needs are the basic human requirements essential for survival and betterment it exist naturally and are not created by marketers. People needed food, air, water, clothing, and shelter to survive also includes things like education, having fun, feeling safe, and entertainment are big needs since they make life better.

• Essential for survival and basic functioning
• Universal in nature
• Cannot be eliminated, only satisfied
• Marketing focuses on fulfilling these needs through suitable products and services

2. Want

Wants arise when human needs are shaped by culture, lifestyle, personality, and personal preferences. They represent specific ways of satisfying needs. For example, if you need food may translate into a want for pizza, burgers, or a specific brand. Wants are not essential for survival but enhance comfort and pleasure.

• Influenced by personal preference and changing trends
• Vary from person to person
• Strongly affected by advertising, fashion, and social environment
• Examples include luxury goods, branded clothing, entertainment, travel, and specific brands

3. Demands

Demands are wants backed by the ability and willingness to pay whereas many consumers may want a product because they have sufficient purchasing power create actual demand. For example, many people may want a BMW, a luxury apartment, or the latest iPhone, but only a few are willing and able to buy them at the given price.

• Based on purchasing power and price
• Measured as market demand, i.e., the total quantity consumers are willing and able to buy at a given price and time
• Companies must assess not just interest, but actual buying capability

Scope of Marketing

The scope of marketing can be understood in terms of functions that an entrepreneur has to perform. These include the following:

1. Functions of exchange: which include buying and assembling and selling?
2. Functions of physical supply: include transportation, storage and warehousing
3. Functions of facilitation: Product Planning and Development, Marketing Research, Standardization, Grading, Packaging, Branding, Sales Promotion, Financing.

Nature and role of marketing 

Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably. Some organizations are very close to their consumers - for example, a post office in a small town. For other organizations consumers may be thousands of miles away - for example, Cadbury Schweppes selling confectionery and soft drinks around the world. The principle that the 'Consumer is King and Queen' is just as relevant to the organisation.

1. Identifying - This will involve answering questions such as 'How do we find out what the consumer's requirements are?' and 'How do we keep in touch with their thoughts and feelings and perceptions about our good or service. This is a key purpose of market research.
2. Anticipating - Consumer requirements change all the time. For example, as people become richer, they may seek a greater variety of goods and services. Anticipation involves looking at the future as well as at the present. What will be the Next Best Thing (NBT) that people will require tomorrow?
3. Satisfying - Consumers want their requirements to be met. They seek particular benefits. They want the right goods, at the right price, at the right time in the right place.
4. Profitability - Marketing also involves making a margin of profit. An organisation that fails to make a profit will have nothing to plough back into the future. Without the resources to put into ongoing marketing activities, it will not be able to identify, anticipate or satisfy consumer requirements.

Functions of marketing

1. Buying - people have the opportunity to buy products that they want.
2. Selling - producers function within a free market to sell products to consumers.
3. Financing - banks and other financial institutions provide money for the production and marketing of products.
4. Storage - products must be stored and protected until they are needed. This function is especially important for perishable products such as fruits and vegetables.
5. Transportation - products must be physically relocated to the locations where consumers can buy them. This is a very important function. Transportation includes rail road, ship, airplane, truck, and telecommunications for non-tangible products such as market information.
6. Processing - processing involves turning a raw product, like wheat; into something the consumer can use – for example, bread.
7. Risk-Taking - insurance companies provide coverage to protect producers and marketers from loss due to fire, theft, or natural disasters.
8. Market Information - information from around the world about market conditions, weather, price movements, and political changes, can affect the marketing process. Market information is provided by all forms of telecommunication, such as television, the internet, and phone.
9. Grading and Standardizing - Many products are graded in order to conform to previously determined standards of quality. For example, when you purchase US No. 1 Potatoes, you know you are buying the best potatoes on the market.

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