Unit 1 Introduction to marketing

Marketing Introduction

• Marketing is the set of strategies and activities companies use to acquire customers, build relationships, and create value for customers to gain value in return.
• Marketing goals include attracting, keeping, and growing customers, and establishing long-term relationships.
• Two types of marketing exist:
  • Strategic marketing (analytical) focusing on research to identify a company's strengths and weaknesses.
  • Operational marketing (practical) which puts strategic marketing into practice.
• Needs are the state of felt deprivation and wants are the form human needs take in response to culture and individual factors.
• Desires are human wants that have the purchasing power to back them.
• Customer value and satisfaction is determined by customer expectations, value, and the exchange process.
• Exchange is the act of obtaining an object from someone by offering something in return.
• Relationships are important for maintaining and growing desirable exchanges between businesses and customers.
• Markets consist of existing and potential buyers for a product or service.
• Target audiences are specific groups of customers that marketing focuses on.
• Value propositions are the set of benefits and values offered by companies to satisfy customer needs.
• Different situations exist when expectations (E) compare to perceptions (P). These include E > P, E = P, and E < P.

Marketing Orientations

• Production orientation: Favors affordable and available products with a focus on production and distribution efficiency. Useful in certain situations but can lead to "marketing myopia."
• Product orientation: Focuses on producing high-quality, high-performance products. Quality improves and products evolve but this strategy can cause risk of overkill.
• Selling orientation: Businesses must actively sell their products due to consumers not buying enough. The strategy emphasizes immense selling and promotes risks.
• Marketing orientation: The company emphasizes understanding target market needs and tailoring its efforts towards meeting those needs.
• Societal marketing orientation: Considers the needs and wants of customers but also considers the long-term interest of society in addition to customer value.

Marketing Trends

• The changing landscape of marketing emphasizes the increasing importance of online, mobile, and social media.
• Key trends impacting marketing include the Internet of Things (IoT), digital, mobile, and social media marketing, big data, AI, NGO and Non-profit marketing, and globalization.

Test your knowledge of marketing principles and strategies with this quiz! Explore key concepts such as customer value, relationships, and the types of marketing. Can you distinguish between strategic and operational marketing? Find out now!