Marketing notes

Topic one : introduction to marketing

What is marketing
Definitions
• The UK-based Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) defines the term as follows:
“Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying
customer requirements profitably.” 
• According to the American Marketing Association’s definition:
“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,
delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society
at large.”
• The Knowledge Exchange Business Encyclopaedia defines marketing as “planning and
executing the strategy involved in moving a good or service from producer to consumer.” 
• According to Kotler and Armstrong (2010). Defines marketing as the process by which
companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to
capture value from customers in return.
Cont. what is marketing
• Marketing is also defined as a social and managerial process by which, individuals and groups
obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others.
• Marketing can also be defined as “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.”
• 
• Basically in general, Marketing refers to the activities of a business related to buying and selling a
product or service. It involves finding out what consumers want and determining whether it is
possible to produce it at the right price. The company then makes and sells it.
• With these definitions in mind, it’s apparent that marketing and many other business activities are
related in some ways. In simplified terms, marketers and others help create goods and services;
help move goods and services through the creation and production process; to the ultimate
consumers.
Why study marketing
The major reasons to study marketing are: -
• Marketing plays an important role in society
• Marketing is vital to business
• Marketing offers outstanding career opportunities
• The marketing effort of organizations affects lives and society every day
• About 50% of total product costs in many industries are marketing costs
• An estimated 30% plus in many organisations today hold marketing positions.
• The present trend is that most organisations are realising and embracing
marketing as they search for sustainable competitive advantage.
• 
Core marketing concepts

1. Needs, wants, and demands 

•Needs
Human needs are the most basic concept underlying marketing. A human need is a
state of felt deprivation. Humans have many complex needs.
I. Basic, physical needs for food, clothing, warmth, and safety.
II.Social needs for belonging and affection.
III.Individual needs for knowledge and self- expression.
These needs are part of the basic human makeup. 
•Wants A human want is the form that a human need takes as shaped by culture and
individual personality. A person may need food but want a sandwich or Katogo
 
Core concepts
2. Products and Services
• A product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.
• A service is an activity or benefit offered for sale that is essentially intangible
and does not result in the ownership of anything.
The concept of product is not limited to physical objects and can include
experiences, persons, places, organizations, information, and ideas.
Be careful of paying attention to the product and not the benefit being
satisfied.
“Marketing myopia” is caused by short sightedness or losing sight of
underlying customer needs by only focusing on existing wants
Core concepts contd.
3. Value, satisfaction, and quality
• Customer value is the difference between the values that the customer gains from
owning and using a product and the costs of obtaining the product.The marketer
should watch that out and work to improve perceived value of the product
• Customer satisfaction depends on a product’s perceived performance in delivering
value relative to a buyer’s expectations. If performance exceeds expectations, the
buyer is delighted (certainly a worthy goal of the marketing company).
• The term total quality management (TQM) is an approach in which all the
company’s people are involved in constantly improving the quality of products,
services, and marketing processes.
Core concepts contd.
5. Markets
• The concepts of exchange and relationships lead to the concept of a
market. A market is the set of actual and potential buyers of a
product.
Core concepts contd.
4. Exchange, transactions, and relationships
• Marketing occurs when people decide to satisfy needs and wants
through exchange.
• Exchange is the act of obtaining a desired object from someone by
offering something in return
• Whereas exchange is a core concept of marketing, a transaction (a
trade of values between two parties) is marketing’s unit of
measurement. Most involve money, a response, and action.
• Transaction marketing is part of a larger idea of relationship marketing.
Core concepts contd.
• Demands are human wants that are backed by buying power.
I. Consumers view products as bundles of benefits and choose
products that give them the best bundle for their money.
II. People demand products with the benefits that add up to the most
satisfaction.
III. Outstanding marketing companies go to great lengths to learn
about and understand their customer’s needs, wants, and
demands. The outstanding company strives to stay close to the
customer.
The marketing system

• There are certain factors that can influence the marketing process directly or
indirectly termed as, “actors and forces in marketing system. Hence a marketing
system comprises of different actors and forces, these include;
• Producer/seller, these include all the functional areas of the firm which must all
coordinate to be able to produce and deliver Marketing Intermediaries - include
various middlemen and distribution firms as well as marketing service agencies
and financial institutions.
• Competitors - are those companies also serving a target market with similar
products and services.
• Publics - may consist of any group that perceives itself having an interest in the
actions of the firm. Publics can have positive as well as negative influences on the
company's objectives.
Marketing system cont.
• product/service effectively.
• product/service, Consideration, i.e. something valuable to exchange in
return of product/service (e.g. money),
• Consumer/customer: usually consist of consumer, industrial, reseller,
government, and international markets.
• Communication process (i.e. to have two way communications like to
provide information about product or service to customer or consumer
and to have feedback in same regard from the customer.
• Suppliers - are the firms and persons that provide the resources needed
by the company and competitors to produce goods and services.
Marketing system contd.
• Marketing Intermediaries - include various middlemen and
distribution firms as well as marketing service agencies and financial
institutions.
• Competitors - are those companies also serving a target market with
similar products and services.
• Publics - may consist of any group that perceives itself having an
interest in the actions of the firm. Publics can have positive as well as
negative influences on the company's objectives
Marketing system activities
1. Sellers must search for buyers, identify their needs, design good
products and services, set prices for them, promote them, and store
and deliver them.
2. A modern marketing system includes all of the elements necessary to
bring buyers and sellers together. This might include such activities as
product development, research, communication, distribution,
pricing, and services.
3. Each of the major actors in a marketing system adds value for the
next level of the system. There is often critical interdependency
among network members.
 
The 4 p’s of marketing

To learn more about marketing first we should learn about some basics
that are sometimes termed as 4ps (Product, price, place, promotion)
1. Product—what are you selling? (It might be a product or a service.)
2. Price—what is your pricing strategy?
3. Place or distribution—how are you distributing your product to get
it into the marketplace?
4. Promotion—how are you telling consumers in your target group
about your products?
Marketing functions
1. Buying: Is a function that ensures that product offerings are available
in sufficient quantities to meet customer demands.
2. Selling: Involves offering the products/services/idea to satisfy
customer needs or wants
3. Transporting: Function that is involved in making the product or
services available to the end-user
4. Storing: Warehouses are used to store the products for further
distribution.
5.   Standardizing and grading: To provide more quality products and
services without variation in the quality
Marketing functions
6. Financing: Providing the financial resources to carry out different
marketing functions e.g. promotion of product and providing credit for
channel members (wholesalers/ retailers) or consumers.
7. Risk taking: Marketer takes a risk specifically when any new product
is introduced in a market because there are equal chances of success
and failure.
8. Securing Marketing Information: Collecting information about
consumers, competitors, and channel members (wholesalers, and
retailers) for use in making marketing decisions.
Role of marketing in organisations

• Shapes the image of the organization

• Establishes relationships between customers and organizations
• Helps in the growth of customer /client base for organisations
• marketing department seeks to identify whether the customer’s needs were
met through feedback collection
• Centre for creating customer loyalty and customer retention
• It serves as a face for the organisation
• helps define target markets and opportunities through market research
• helps you understand how your products and services are perceived through
market research
Role of marketing in organisations

• Produces internal communications

• Serves as media liaison.
• Overseeing outside vendors and agencies
• Marketing helps in defining and managing organisation’s brand
Thus: Without marketing, our brands will not be illuminated and our
organizations would be lifeless. Organization’s success is not only
determined by the prudent application of funds to the various
portfolios of investment but also by the relationship established with
the customers, which is a function of marketing.
End of lecture one
Thank you