The
term ‘Marketing’ has been defined in many ways by different authorities. It is
useful to pause for a while and consult some of these definitions:
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Marketing consists of the performance of
business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to
consumer or user (American Marketing Association).
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According to the American Marketing
Association (AMA) Board of Directors,
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.
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Marketing is the management function
that organizes and directs all business activities involved in assessing and
converting consumer purchasing power into effective demand for a specific
product or service, and in moving it to the final consumer or user so as to
achieve the profit target or other objectives set by the company (British
Institute of Marketing).
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Marketing is a social process by which
individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and
exchanging products and value with others (Kotler, 1984).
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Dr. Philip Kotler defines marketing as
“the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy
the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies
unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines measures and quantifies the size of the
identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the
company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate
products and services.”
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Marketing is a total system of business
activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want-satisfying
goods and services to present and potential customers (Stanton, 1964).
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Marketing is the business function that
identifies customers’ needs and wants, determines which target markets the
organisation can serve best, and designs appropriate products, services, and
programmes to serve these markets (Kotler and Armstrong, 1996).
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Marketing is the business process by
which products are matched with markets and through which transfer of ownership
is effected (Cundiff and Still, 1964).
These definitions are better explained
through the examination of the following terms: needs, wants, demands,
products, exchange, and some others.
Basic Concepts Underlying Marketing
1. Needs
The most basic concept underlying
marketing is that of human needs. Human needs are states of felt deprivation.
These needs include basic physical needs for food, clothing, shelter and
safety; social needs for belonging and affection; and individual needs for
knowledge and self-expression. The needs are in-built in human nature itself.
It is not invented by marketers. That is, they naturally exist in the composition
of human biology and human condition. When the needs are not satisfied, a
person will try to reduce the need or look for an object that will satisfy it.
2.
Wants
Human wants are desires for specific
satisfaction of deeper needs. For example, a man in the village needs rain and
food and wants fertilizer. Also, a man may want yam, rice, body cream, a bag, a
wrist-watch, etc. but needs money. Human needs may be few, but their wants are
numerous. These wants are continually shaped and re-shaped by social forces and
institutions such as families, church, schools and business corporations.
Marketers do not create needs; needs pre-exist in marketing. Marketers, along
with other operatives in society, influence wants. They suggest and inform
consumers about certain products and persuade them to purchase, stressing the
benefits of such products.
3. Demands
People have almost unlimited wants but
limited resources. They want to choose products that provide the most value and
satisfaction for their money. When backed by purchasing power, wants become
demand. That is, demand want for specific products that backed up by an ability
and willingness to buy them. For example, many desire a car such as Mercedes
Benz, Toyota, BMW, Honda, etc. but only a few are really willing and able to
buy one.
4.
Products
People normally satisfy their wants and
needs with products offered in the market. Broadly, a product can be defined as
anything that can be offered to someone to satisfy a need or want.
Specifically, a product can be defined as an object, service, activity, person,
place, organisation or idea.
5.
Exchange
Marketing takes place when people decide
to satisfy needs and wants through exchange. Exchange is therefore the act of
obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return.
Exchange is only one of the many ways people can obtain a desired object.
However, Kotler (1984) states that for
exchange to take place, it must satisfy five conditions, namely:
Ø There
are at least two parties.
Ø Each
party has something that might be of value to the other party.
Ø Each
party is capable of communication and delivery.
Ø Each
party is free to accept or reject the offer.
Ø Each
party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party.
These five conditions make exchange
possible. Whether exchange actually takes place, however depends on the parties
coming to an agreement. It is often concluded that the act of exchange has left
both of them better off, or at least not worse off. Hence, exchange creates
value just as production creates value. It gives people more consumption
possibilities.
6.
Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing is the
process of developing long-term customer relationships with the goal of
increasing customer loyalty and, as a result, profitability. It involves
creating a process of communication with customers that is designed to build
trust and create value over time.
Relationship
marketing is a way to show customers you care about them, their needs, and
their opinions.
7.
Markets
A market is defined as a set of all
actual and potential buyers of a product and service. These buyers share
particular needs or wants that can be satisfied through exchange. The size of a
market depends on the need of people with common needs and has resources to
engage in exchange, and is willing to offer these resources in exchange for
what they want. Originally, the term ‘market’ stood for the place where buyers
and sellers gathered to exchange their goods, such as a village square.
8.
Marketers
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