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Marketing
Marketing is one of the most important functions in business. It is the
discipline required to understand customers' needs and the benefits they seek.
Academia does not have one commonly agreed upon definition. Even after a better
part of a century the debate continues. In a nutshell it consists of the social
and managerial processes by which products (goods or services) and value are
exchanged in order to fulfill the needs and wants of individuals or groups.
Although many people seem to think that "marketing" and "advertising" are
synonymous, they are not. Advertising is simply one of the many processes that
together constitute marketing.
A market-focused, or customer-focused, organization first determines what its
potential customers desire, and then builds the product or service. Marketing
theory and practice is justified in the belief that customers use a
product/service because they have a need, or because a product/service provides
a perceived benefit.Two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new
customers (acquisition) and the retention and expansion of relationships with
existing customers (base management).Marketing methods are informed by many of
the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics.
Anthropology is also a small, but growing, influence. Market research underpins
these activities. Through advertising, it is also related to many of the
creative arts.
For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "Ps" must reflect the
wants and desires of the consumers in the target market. Trying to convince a
market segment to buy something they don't want is extremely expensive and
seldom successful. Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and
informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for
it. Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable competitive
advantage. Marketing management is the practical application of this process.
The offer is also an important addition to the 4P's theory.
The four Ps are:
Product: The product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications of the
actual good or service, and how it relates to the end-user's needs and wants.
The scope of a product generally includes supporting elements such as
warranties, guarantees, and support.
Pricing: This refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including
discounts. The price need not be monetary - it can simply be what is exchanged
for the product or service, e.g. time, or attention.
Promotion: This includes advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and personal
selling, and refers to the various methods of promoting the product, brand, or
company.
Placement or distribution refers to how the product gets to the customer; for
example, point of sale placement or retailing. This fourth P has also sometimes
been called Place, referring to the channel by which a product or service is
sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region or industry, to which
segment (young adults, families, business people), etc. Learn Marketing, SCHOOLS
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