10-Feb-2012: Marketing Concepts
The Marketing concepts under which organisations have conducted marketing
activities have undergone some sort of evolution during the period of human
existence. Chronologically they are :
Exchange Concept : This is the primitive & fundamental concept of
marketing. Exchange of goods and services between two agencies called buyer and
seller, or exchange of goods and services for money or barter system. This
involves the process of obtaining a desired product or service from someone
else by offering something (money or any other item) in return.
Production Concept : This concept is one of the oldest, and suggests that
the consumers will like to buy the products which are available easily, cheaply
& widely. So the marketers must have a mass production facility (efficient
production) with low price (cost efficiency) and make it available very near to
the customers (mass distribution). This concept is normally adopted when the
Company wants to expand.
Product Concept - This is the next step of evolution of marketing
concepts. It depicts that customers will go for those products which offer
quality, utility, features, performance, value, benefits, etc. So the marketers
must improve the products in an innovative way & continuously. This is more
often accompanied by a suitable pricing, distribution, promotion (all the 4Ps
of marketing) programme.
Selling Concept : This concept involves aggressive selling and
promotional effort. “The purpose of marketing is to sell more stuff to more
people more often for more money in order to make more profit”. This kind of
marketing is practised for goods & services which buyers normally don’t
like to buy, like insurance, dictionaries, encyclopaedia, etc. The aim of the
marketers is to sell what they produce, rather than make what the market wants.
Marketing Concept - This concept was evolved in the 1950s, and for the
first time the attention was shifted to Customers. Instead of concentrating on
the Products / Production / Selling, the business became "Customer
Oriented". The "Make & Sell" philosophy gave way to the
"Sense & Respond" philosophy. Instead of finding the right
customer for the product, the marketer now has to find the right product for
the customer. The perceptive contrast between the selling and marketing
concepts – selling focuses on the needs of the seller, marketing on the needs
of the buyer. This concept holds the secret of the company being more effective
than its competitors in creating, delivering & communicating superior value
to the targeted customers.
Holistic Marketing Concept – In the new marketing environment, companies
wonder how to operate & compete. Marketers in the current age are
increasingly recognising the need to have a more complete & cohesive
approach that goes beyond traditional application of marketing concepts. This
concept is based on the development, design and implementation of marketing
programs, processes and activities that recognise their breadth and inter-dependencies.
Holistic Marketing recognises that “everything matters” with marketing - and
that a broad integrated perspective is often necessary. The important
components are :
Integrated Marketing,
Internal Marketing,
Relationship Marketing,
Social Responsibility Marketing.
The Holistic Marketing Concept is an approach to marketing that seeks to
recognise & reconcile the scope & complexities of various marketing
processes.
