Marketing is a very broad concept. However, there are some characteristics that all marketing activities fall under. Marketing refers to the method by which an organization undertakes in order to engage its customer base, develop brand equity, create value to capture potential value in return for investment, and deliver marketing processes that enhance performance. It includes advertising, interactive marketing, product positioning, and branding. The five attributes listed above are at the core of what marketing does. Want to know more? Branding workshops are a great way to ramp up and forge on in your branding endeavors.
Customers’ Needs/Wants Are At The Core Of Marketing
Marketing has evolved into a highly specialized discipline to deal with customers needs/wants. Marketing theories have become increasingly complex in order to accommodate changing market conditions. In order to remain relevant in a constantly changing environment, marketing must adapt to change by developing a strategy that will address the unique marketing challenges facing organizations today, evolving or developing new strategies as needed. This is one part of marketing that does not differ when comparing offline sales vs online sales—a business needs to understand the target consumer regardless of their marketing or sales method.
Advertising Vs. Marketing: Understanding The Difference
Marketing also includes core marketing concepts like advertising, selling, public relations, and research and development. These are some of the most important marketing management functions. Advertising and selling are the backbone of marketing management. Selling conveys messages to consumers about a product through the mass media. Advertising conveys a message to buyers by presenting products or services in a specific, targeted marketing environment, on terms that appeal to the buyer. Advertising and selling also include various other functions such as sponsorships, product positioning, and societal marketing.
Abstract Marketing Theory
Marketing theories become highly abstracted as a result of shifting marketing perspectives in response to market conditions. When marketing theories become highly abstracted they become dysfunctional, ineffective, and costly. For example, when marketing theories become overly subjective and attempt to cater to individual needs instead of promoting products or services for which there are adequate, appropriate marketing strategies, the results are often disappointing. Likewise, when marketing theories become overly objective and attempt to measure product concept against overall impact upon society, the results are often disappointing as well. In order to market effectively one must adopt a holistic approach that takes into consideration both the market as a whole as well as each product concept individually.
Consumer Concept
One of the more common marketing concepts is the consumer concept wherein the marketing manager attempts to quantify the satisfaction of consumers with particular products or services. Consumer concept is somewhat similar to customer concept, but the scope is somewhat narrower since it only seeks to provide a quantitative measurement of satisfaction. Consumer concept has been criticized for being too narrow because it tends to focus on the characteristics of a product or service, rather than analyzing consumer behavior. This concept is important because it can be used to build marketing campaigns that are likely to be effective, and it can be used to test new marketing approaches before implementing them. However, because consumers tend to evaluate concepts not individual attributes, it may prove difficult to apply this concept across different industries.
Market concept is an extension of consumer concept wherein the marketing manager seeks to quantify or measure the satisfaction of consumers with specific products or services. Unlike consumer concept, market concept is broader and covers a variety of strategies used by marketing managers to communicate with consumers. Market concept can be used to address a wide range of issues in marketing management, including pricing, marketing timing, advertising, promotions, sales, and even brand name recognition. By exploring how different marketing strategies might be effective in different markets, marketers can effectively fine-tune their strategies to meet their target goals within a given industry. However, as marketing management approaches become more complex, this concept can become a challenge for marketers to effectively manage.
Value Proposition Marketing Management
This is a concept which is concerned with the creation of selling propositions or advertisements that help define the business, its offerings, and the benefits associated with purchasing the items or services provided by the business. The primary goal of selling propositions is to convince consumers to make a buying decision so that the business will be able to maximize its profits. Although value proposition marketing can be used to promote just about any type of product or service, its effectiveness is dependent upon the type of products or services being sold.
The Importance Of Conducting Research
Marketing research is also important to understand how marketing activities can affect the performance and sales of a company. For example, marketing research that focuses on developing new advertisements can have a significant effect on the success of an advertisement. Marketing research can also help to quantify the impact that marketing activities have on the bottom line, allowing a company to better understand whether the investment is worth it. Understanding the concepts and principles of marketing research can provide a strong framework upon which to build future marketing strategies.
