1. Definitions and history of Marketing

Deff:

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchange and satisfy individual and organizational objectives (1985, American Marketing Association).

Marketing is a management process.

Marketing is about giving customers what they want.

History:

• First Era Classical School (1900–50): These theories focused on aggregate market behaviour and focused on the use of economics and sociology.

• Second Era Managerial Marketing (1950-75): This era began in marketing departments within managerial or business schools, and they focused their attention on individual behaviour, but continued their reliance on borrowing techniques from social sciences.

• Third Era Behavioural Marketing School (1965-present): These schools have borrowed from different branches, mostly psychology, in an effort to gain even greater insight into individual consumer behaviour.

• Fourth Era Adaptive/Strategic Marketing School (1980 —present): once again, a return to a more macro-or aggregate focus. Influence of M. Porter and the competitive advantage paradigm.

Marketing is not a theoretical discipline. It is a framework composed of different disciplines.

Though its roots are in industrial economics, actually it is a composite of three academic disciplines: Economics; Psychology and Management

2.Marketing concepts

Production: focus on producing more, selling high volumes; controlling costs and production efficiency. (Ford 1920s — Model T)  

Product: focus on improving quality; assumes that customers want a better quality version of the same product. ( GM 1930s — Diversified product line)

 Selling: focus on aggressive sales and promotion to sell whatever the organisation wants to make; sellers needs come first

 Marketing: focus on defining customer needs and then developing offerings that deliver what the customer wants; customer needs come first .

• Production Concept

Concentrate on achieving high production efficiency, low cost & mass distribution

Consumers prefer inexpensive items in developing countries.

This concept is the oldest of the concepts in business.

It holds that consumers will prefer products that are widely available and inexpensive. Managers focusing on this concept concentrate on achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and mass distribution.

They assume that consumers are primarily interested in product availability and low prices. This orientation makes sense in developing countries, where consumers are more interested in obtaining the product than in its features

• Product Concept

Consumers favor quality, performance or innovative features. This orientation holds that consumers will favor those products that offer the most quality, performance, or innovative features. Managers focusing on this concept concentrate on making superior products and improving them over time. They assume that buyers admire well-made products and can Appraise quality and performance. However, these managers are sometimes caught up in a love affair with their product and do not realize what the market needs.