Marketing is one of the cornerstones of business. For any type of business, marketing is extremely important. Without marketing, a company is as good as washed up. The phrase “No marketing is better than No Marketing” is not really far off. Marketing goes a long way in making a product sell and one should do their best to get the most marketing they can get for their product.
Marketing Definition
Marketing refers to the whole process that an organization undertakes in order to engage its potential customers, develop strong relations with other companies to generate mutual value for both parties, and then sell for a profit. For example, the writing team on pinkoffice focuses on engaging the readers to keep them coming back. In simple terms, marketing is about creating awareness, promoting a product, gathering consumer feedback, analyzing customer behavior, and channeling the right messages to target potential clients. Although there is much overlap between these different marketing activities, each activity has its own unique purpose and function. Marketing is therefore not just about setting up booths, handing out brochures, and being on the look out for customers to buy your products. Let us take a look at each activity and see how it fits into the marketing process.
- Advertising: Advertising is one of the pillars of modern marketing management. Its goal is to persuade consumers to buy or make use of a product. It uses many marketing concepts such as the so-called psychological or sociological marketing concepts. These concepts are concerned with developing and maintaining a relationship between the seller and the buyer, a relationship that is based on trust and credibility. This relationship is what sells, hence the need for social marketing.
The marketing concept of targeting is very important. A concept like “buying in bulk” for example, drives consumers to act in a manner that increases the probability of them buying a product that is not available in bulk, but that can be obtained more cheaply by buying it in small quantities. The concept of consumers doubling up on purchases and the resultant saving (in money and effort) makes the idea workable. However, when all other marketing factors are present, this strategy does not work and consumers will either not purchase the product at all or they will merely get the equivalent service for free. - Satisfying Consumers: What happens when marketing efforts fail? There are two possible scenarios: either consumers stop purchasing products, or they stop buying according to a predetermined set of criteria. Marketing research specialists called customer orientation in marketing. They explained that pleasing consumers involves giving them options, especially when these options do not conflict with the core purpose of the marketing concept: that of satisfying customers. Consumer orientation means giving a consumer several options in order for him to choose a good product.
Thus, when planning to implement a coordinated marketing campaign, the first step should be to establish a set of standard criteria on which all marketing actions are based. These standard criteria should include a number of elements such as the product description, its advantages and disadvantages, advertising message, the company logo, and other special features that appeal only to specific groups of customers needs. The next step is to define and establish a series of incentives for customers who buy from your company. Such measures do not aim at purely earning profit from their purchases, but they are formulated to satisfy their needs in terms of quality and satisfaction.
Consumer Orientation
Consumer orientation is part of an integrated marketing approach that is practiced by most companies practicing sales and marketing research. A clear understanding of the concept of satisfying customers has a direct impact on the success of a sales and marketing operation. This concept is part of the basis of the success of many innovative companies practicing comprehensive marketing campaigns.
Consumer orientation is a necessary part of any marketing strategy. For example, some companies have opted to use this concept in their advertising campaigns, despite the objections of other marketing management experts. Companies such as Burger King have successfully used this concept in their marketing campaigns. However, other companies practicing coordinated marketing strategies have not been able to market their products effectively using consumer-oriented marketing techniques. Such companies have resorted to developing extensive marketing strategies focused specifically on satisfying consumers.
