A marketing concept is one that is consumer oriented, value driven, integrated, market driven and goal oriented. While this is a textbook definition, this definitely gives a generalized idea of what a marketing concept is. There are a few distinct parts of the marketing concept which helps to explain how to further understand the concept and apply it in real world setting.
First, it is key for businesses to be consumer oriented. This means that the business is aware of what the consumer’s want, at what price they are willing to pay for it and where or when they will buy it. Many consider this part of the marketing concept the research section or portion. A business that can effectively determine and analyze the needs of the market will most certainly enjoy success if they make the proper decisions based on these needs.
A value driven company means that your products are superior or at least perceived to be superior to those products in the marketplace at a similar price point. The consumer sees your service or product as being worth more than the prices charged and the amount that it costs to make the product. Value driven aspects in your marketing and business plan will allow you to make a profit easier because your customers will almost always be willing to buy your product.
An integrated concept means that all aspects of the company work well together. No single groups such as sales or accounting is too far removed from the rest of the company. By keeping the groups together, a company can make smart decisions while maintain lines of communication that are open.
A market driven company is a company that is completely married to the concept of being consumer oriented. This type of company can easily adapt to fluctuations in the market and capture a larger segment of the marketplace because of this ability. This kind of company can effectively serve customers while meeting their every need.
A goal oriented company is one that can effectively lay out both short term and long term plans. This company successfully strives to reach the goals that they set for themselves. Goals that are planned well and well thought out can help a company to complete the tasks at hand while accomplishing all of the additional aspects of the marketing concept.
Together these components of the marketing concept may seem overwhelming. However, broken down into individual tasks or sections, can help a business do the proper amount of planning in order to succeed.
Marketing mix stands for four P's of the marketing management--Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The term marketing mix came from a book published in 1964 by Neil H. Borden titled 'The concept Of the Marketing Mix'. Though with the passage of time there have been attempts to increase these P’s to include three more P’s –Personal, Physical Evidence and Package but mostly these four are still considered to be the main ingredients of the marketing. The premise of these four P's is that all marketing decisions generally falls under one of these broadly defined categories.
The product refers to actual tangible things like computer, books etc or services like tourism etc .The decisions related to products generally comprise of product's brand name, its functionality, styling, quality, safety, packaging etc.
The price is the money the customer pays for the product .One of the major factor while deciding the price is to know how much the customer is willing to pay for the product. There are lots of factors which effect the final price of the product like is the price comparative enough compared to other similar product in the market, how much profit margin can be kept on the product .Pricing also takes into consideration how much discounts can be offered to different customers, and what should be the rate for wholesalers and retailers and how much leeway can be given to the buying customer while bargaining.
Place represents the actual points from which the product is reachable to its end customers. Place can be an actual physical location or it can be a virtual online market. Some of the factors controlling the decisions related to place are warehousing, market coverage, distribution centres, transportation and other logistics and financial decisions. Many businesses do not survive if the place chosen for business is not conductive for the product.
Promotion is about reaching to the people. It is about communicating with the prospective customer about the use and benefits associated with the product. Promotion is generally done by advertising, word of mouth, public relations or point of sale. Since promoting a product requires lots of money and has great impact on the psyche of customers, it has to be a balanced mix of the above four factors. Off lately promotion has become most important factor out of these four P's .This is because with the right promotion the customer base of the product can change dramatically.
The right mix of the above four variables is what marketing management is all about!