Marketing Principles and Business Practice

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Marketing Principles and Business Practice

Introduction

The radical changes in the marketplace are creating challenges for the management to meet the customer needs and generate revenues. Understanding the customer needs, wants and requirements is becoming complex. New business models and management concepts are emerging as the industries are expanding (Kotler & Keller, 2007, p.29). Proving superior quality in order to sustain and developing competitive advantage through product differentiation is becoming the need of firms.

Creating long-term strategic relationships with business partners is becoming necessary. Market Segmentation is the platform for companies to successful plan their marketing activities and target appropriate audience with their promotion efforts.

Analysis

Question 1

Selling Concept and Marketing Concept as marketing management orientation

Selling concept states that the individuals, households or businesses will not purchase the firm's products or services until the firm persuades them through promotional efforts and activities. The firms require converting consumer needs into buying motives through sales strategies (Kotler et.al, 2009, p.21). This concept applies to firms which focus on their own needs producing goods with the idea of converting goods into cash.

This concept pays little amount of attention to the actual needs and demands of customers. The goal is to receive value from customers in exchange and beat the competition through economies of scale and low cost. The firms opt for this concept when they have over capacity to manufacture goods and their only objective is to sell rather than understanding customer wants and creating consumer satisfaction. The firms which use this concept include unsought goods and goods which are not paid attention by the consumers. These goods include insurance, political campaign or blood donations (Kotler et.al, 2009, p.21).

Marketing concept as management orientations explains that instead of being product centric, firms shit to customer focus. The firms understand the needs and want of consumers and develop the product offering accordingly. The firms deliver superior value to customers and achieve high profitability. The concept relates to organisation's capabilities to sense the consumer needs and conduct market research and then develop goods. The customer orientation concept emerged from marketing concept (Kotler et.al, 2009, p.21).

The customers are set as the starting point; this enables a firm in achieving competitive edge over competition and become capture market share. The whole firm is thriving to make the customer experience better each time. The concept focuses on main elements such as clearly identifying the target market to serve, determining their needs and wants, and finally creating value proposition for customers (Kotler & Keller, 2007, p.29). For example, companies such as Dell Inc., develop the products and solutions according to customer need requirements and examine the future demands so that they can develop capabilities to meet such demands.

Marketing concept has superseded the selling concept

The selling concept has been replaced by the marketing concept, as the firms have become more customers focused. The firms now identify the target market and then satisfy their needs. The competitive environment has developed challenges for firms to create point of differentiation. The firms have ...