Definition of Marketing, Concepts or Philosophy of Marketing, Core Marketing Terms, Functions of Marketing, Scope of Marketing

Definition of Marketing
Different writer, professional, and scholars have defined marketing in different ways. Some of them have defined that marketing is buying and selling of products and services. Some others have also defined that marketing is the activities which are related to delivering the products and services from the producers to the consumers. Some important definitions are given below: According to Philip Kotler, "Marketing is a social and management process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others". According to American Marketing Association, "Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user". According to Prof. Paul Mazur, "Marketing is the delivery of standard of living to society". From the above definition it can be concluded that marketing means those activities which are related to delivering the products from the producers to the consumers such as trading, transportation, warehousing, grading, standardization, packaging, collecting information, risk taking, etc.

Core Marketing Concept

The main core concepts are (1) needs, wants, and demands; (2) market offerings and brands (products, services, experiences, and brands); (3) customer value and satisfaction; (4) exchanges, transaction, and relationships; (5) markets, (6) 1. Needs, wants, and demands Needs: The most basic concept underlying marketing is that of human needs. Human needs are states of felt deprivation. They include basic physical needs for food, clothing, warmth, and safety; social needs for belonging and affection; and individual needs for knowledge and self-expression. Wants: Wants are the form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. Wants are shaped by ones society and are described in terms of objects that will satisfy those needs. Demands: When backed by buying power, wants become demands. Buying power means willingness to buy, authority to buy, and ability to buy. Given their wants and resources, people demand products with benefits that add up to the most value and satisfaction.

Examples for clarification of the terms: Needs: I felt hungry Wants: I sought rice and vegetables to meet the need as a Bangladeshi. In case of an American, he sought French fry with curry. 1 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

Demands: When I will have the buying power to buy rice and vegetables then it will be my demand.

2. Market offerings and brands (products, services, experiences, and brands) Consumers needs and wants are fulfilled through market offeringssome combination of products, services, information, or experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or a want. Market offerings are not limited to physical products. They also include services activities or benefits offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything. Examples include banking, airline, hotel, tax preparation, and home repair services. More broadly, market offerings also include other entities, such as persons, places, organizations, information, and ideas. Many sellers make the mistake of paying more attention to the specific products they offer than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products. They are so taken with their products that they focus only on existing wants and lose sight of underlying customer needs. They forget that a product is only a tool to solve a consumer problem. A manufacturer of quarter-inch drill bits may think that the customer needs a drill bit. But what the customer really needs is a quarter-inch hole. These sellers will have trouble if a new product comes along that serves the customers need better or less expensively. The customer will have the same need but will want the new product. Smart marketers look beyond the attributes of the products and services they sell. They create brand meaning and brand experience for consumers. For example, Coca-Cola means much more to consumers than just something to drink- it has become an icon with a rich tradition and meaning. By orchestrating several services and products, companies can create, stage, and market brand experiences for consumers. Disney World is an experience. In fact, as products and services increasingly become commodities, experiences have emerged for many firms as the next step in differentiating the company's offer. Note: Brand: "A name, term, sign, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's product or service as distinct from those of other sellers" - The American Marketing Association. According Philip Kotler,"A name, term, sign, symbol, or design or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Experience: Experience is knowledge or skill which is obtained from doing, seeing or feeling things. 3. Customer Value and Satisfaction Value: Customer value is defined as the ratio between the consumer's perceived benefits and the resources used to obtain those benefits. In another direction customer value is the guiding concept that can direct a person to choose a particular thing. The notion of value is an important one in marketing. It takes into account the benefits that a customer enjoys as a result of making a purchase, and also that by making the purchase the customer will have incurred both money costs and non-money costs (e.g. the time and effort that it takes to go out and make the purchase). 2 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

Value is the difference between the total costs of making a purchase and the total benefits received. For marketers this concept is an important one because they can consider how they can offer customers value. Some marketers will, for example, add additional features to a product so that it delivers more benefits. If the increase in value is considerably more than that offered by competitors, the marketer may be able to charge a higher price and thereby improve profit margins. Value is the ratio of cost and benefit. Benefit Cost = Value 1

Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is the individual's perception of the performance of the products or services in relation to his or her expectation. Customer satisfaction depends on the products perceived performance relative to a buyers expectations. If the products performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied and may buy another brand next time. If performance matches expectations, the customer is satisfied and, in marketing terms, feels that they have made a quality purchase.. If performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted. Outstanding marketing companies go out of their way to keep important customers satisfied. Most studies show that higher levels of customer satisfaction lead to greater customer loyalty, which in turn results in better company performance. Smart companies aim to delight customers by promising only what they can deliver and then delivering more than they promise. Delighted customers not only make repeat purchases but also become willing marketing partners and customer evangelists who spread the word about their good experiences to others. Customer's expectations will depend on, among other factors, the marketers advertising, those of competitors and the customers own previous experience of making that purchase. Satisfaction is important because it can lead to customers trusting the brand that they have just bought and thus being encouraged to buy it on future occasions. This concept is also important in terms of the implications for marketers they need to ensure that the promises made by their marketing communications can actually be met by their products and services.

4. Exchange, Transactions and Relationships Exchange: Marketing occurs when people decide to satisfy needs and wants through exchange. Exchange is the act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return. Exchange is only one of many ways people can obtain a desired object. Exchange is the core concept of marketing. For an exchange to take place, several conditions must be satisfied. Of course, at least two parties must participate and each must have something of value to offer the other.

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Transaction: Whereas exchange is the core concept of marketing, a transaction is marketing's unit of measurement. A transaction consists of a trading of values between two parties. In a transaction, we must be able to say that one party gives X to another party and gets Y in return. Relationships: Transaction marketing is part of the larger idea of relationship marketing. Smart marketers work at building long-term relationships with valued customers, distributors, dealers and suppliers. They build strong economic and social tics by promising and consistently delivering high-quality products, good service and fair prices. Increasingly, marketing is shifting from trying to maximize the profit on each individual transaction to maximizing mutually beneficial relationships with consumers and other parties.

5. Markets The concepts of exchange and relationships lead to the concept of a market. A market is the set of actual and potential buyers of a product. These buyers share a particular need or want that can be satisfied through exchange relationships. Thus, the size of a market depends on the number of people who exhibit the need, have resources to engage in exchange, and are willing to offer these resources in exchange for what they want. 6. Market Segmentation, Market Targeting, Market Differentiation and Positioning Market Segmentation: The market consists of many types of customers, products, and needs. The marketer must determine which segments offer the best opportunities. Consumers can be grouped and served in various ways based on geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral factors. The process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have different needs, characteristics, or behaviors, and who might require separate products or marketing programs is called market segmentation. A market segment consists of consumers who respond in a similar way to a given set of marketing efforts. Companies are wise to focus their efforts on meeting the distinct needs of individual market segments. Market Targeting: After a company has defined its market segments, it can enter one or many of these segments. Market targeting involves evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter. A company should target segments in which it can profitably generate the greatest customer value and sustain it over time. Most companies enter a new market by serving a single segment, and, if this proves successful, they add more segments. Market Differentiation and Positioning: After a company has decided which market segments to enter, it must decide how it will differentiate its market offering for each targeted segment and what positions it wants to occupy in those segments. A products position is the place it occupies relative to competitors products in consumers minds. Marketers want to develop unique market positions for their products. If a product is perceived to be exactly like others on the market, consumers would have no reason to buy it. Positioning is arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive, and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target consumers. Marketers plan 4 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

positions that distinguish their products from competing brands and give them the greatest advantage in their target markets. 7. Marketing/Distribution Channels The term channel is derived from the Latin word canalis, which means canal. A marketing channel can be viewed as a large canal or pipeline through which products, their ownership, communication, financing and payment, and accompanying risk flow to the consumer. Formally, a marketing channel (also called a channel of distribution) is a business structure of interdependent organizations that are involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by end customers or business users. Marketing channels facilitate the physical movement of goods from location to location, thus representing place or distribution in the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) and encompassing the processes involved in getting the right product to the right place at the right time. Many different types of organizations participate in marketing channels. Channel members (wholesalers, distributors, and retailers, also sometimes referred to as intermediaries, resellers, and middlemen) negotiate with one another, buy and sell products, and facilitate the change of ownership between buyer and seller in the course of moving the product from the manufacturer into the hands of the final consumer. As products move through channels, channel members facilitate the distribution process by providing specialization and division of labor, overcoming discrepancies, and providing contact efficiency. 8. Supply Chain A supply chain consists of all parties involved directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer request. The supply chain includes not only the manufacturers and suppliers, but also transporters, warehouses, retailers, and even customers. The supply chain describes a longer channel, stretching from raw materials to components to final products that are carried to final buyers. For example, the supply chain for PCs consists of suppliers of computer chips and other components, the computer manufacturer, and the distributors, retailers, and others who sell the computers. Through supply chain management, many companies today are strengthening their connections with partners all along the supply chain. They know that their fortunes rest not just on how well they perform. Success at building customer relationships also rests on how well their entire supply chain performs against competitors supply chains. These companies dont just treat suppliers as vendors and distributors as customers. They treat both as partners in delivering customer value. 9. Competition Competition includes all the actual and potential rival offerings and substitutes that a buyer might consider. The marketing concept states that, to be successful, a company must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do. Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers. They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors offerings in the minds of consumers. No single competitive marketing strategy is best for all companies. Each firm should consider its own size and industry position compared to those of its competitors. Large 5 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

firms with dominant positions in an industry can use certain strategies that smaller firms cannot afford. But being large is not enough. There are winning strategies for large firms, but there are also losing ones. And small firms can develop strategies that give them better rates of return than large firms enjoy. 10. Marketing Environment A company's marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing management's ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target customers. The marketing environment offers both opportunities and threats. Successful companies know the vital importance of using their marketing research and intelligence systems constantly to watch and adapt to the changing environment. The marketing environment consists of a microenvironment and a macroenvironment. The microcrtvironment consists of the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers - the company, suppliers, marketing channel firms, customer markets, competitors and publics. The microenvironment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the whole microenvironment - demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces. We look first at the company's microenvironment. 11. Marketing Planning Formal planning can yield many benefits for all types of company, large and small, new and mature. It encourages systematic thinking. It forces the company to sharpen its objectives and policies, leads to better co-ordination of company efforts, and provides clearer performance standards for control. Companies usually prepare annual plans, longrange plans and strategic plans: Annual plan: A short-term plan that describes the company's current situation, its objectives, strategy, action programme and budgets for the year ahead and controls. Long-range plan: A plan that describes the principal factors and forces affecting the organization during the next several years, including long-term objectives, the chief marketing strategies used to attain them and the resources required. Strategic plan: A plan that describes how a firm will adapt to take advantage of opportunities in its constantly changing environment, thereby maintaining a strategic fit between the firm's goals and capabilities and its changing market opportunities. The strategic plan contains several components: the mission, the strategic objectives, the strategic audit, SWOT analysis, portfolio analysis, objectives and strategies. All of these feed from and feed into marketing plans.

Functions Performed in Marketing

Marketing is the performance of those business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers or users. The main business activities or functions that are performed before production, after production and after sales are briefly discussed hereunder. a) Function before production 6 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

Marketing Environment Analysis: Marketing environment analysis involves collection and analysis of facts relevant to various aspects of marketing. It is a process of collecting and analyzing information regarding customer needs and buying habits, the nature of competition in the market, prevailing prices, distribution network, effectiveness of advertising media, etc. Marketing environment analysis gathers records and analyses facts for arriving at rational decisions and developing suitable marketing strategies. Determining Customer Needs: Examination and evaluation of consumer needs, desires, and wantsinvolves administering customer surveys, analyzing consumer information, evaluating market positioning strategies, developing customer profiles, and determining optimal market segmentation strategies. The information generated by customer analysis can be essential in developing an effective mission statement. Customer profiles can reveal the demographic characteristics of an organization's customers. Buyers, sellers, distributors, salespeople, managers, wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, and creditors can all participate in gathering information to identify customers' needs and wants successfully. Successful organizations continually monitor present and potential customers' buying patterns. Product Planning and Development: As we know marketing starts much before the actual production. The marketers gather information regarding what are the needs of the consumers and then decide upon what to produce. So, the task of marketing begins with planning and designing a product for the consumers. It can also be done while modifying and improving an already existing product. For example, now-a-days we find much better soaps and detergent powders than we used to get earlier. Similarly, we have many new products introduced almost on a regular basis. Financing: The financing functions of marketing involve providing credit for channel members and consumers. Banks and other financial institutions provide money for the production and marketing of products. Buying and Assembling: Buying and assembling activities as a part of marketing refer to buying and collection of required goods for resale. This function of marketing is primarily relevant to those business organizations that are engaged in trading activities. In the context of manufacturing organizations, buying and assembling involves buying raw materials and components required for production of finished goods. Marketing Planning: Market planning aims at achieving a firm's marketing objectives. These objectives may involve increasing market presence, dominate the market or increase market share. The market planning function covers aspects of production levels, promotions and other action programs.

b) Function after production Standardization: Standardization refers to development of standards for production of goods with respect to shape, design, colour and other characteristics. If products are standardized, customers are able to identify a product and its characteristics very well. So goods can be sold by sample or description. Standardization helps in promoting the sale of the product by increasing consumers confidence in the product quality. 7 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

Grading: Grading involves separating products into different classes on the basis of certain predetermined standards relating to size and quality. Grading is required in case of agricultural, forest and mineral products such as cotton, sugar cane, iron ore, coal, timber, etc. Transportation: Transportation refers to the physical movement of goods from one place to another. In marketing, transport as an activity refers to physical movement of raw materials as well as finished goods from the place of production to place of consumption. Goods are transported through various means like railways, roadways, waterways and airways. For heavy and bulky goods, the railways and waterways are the best. For other goods, it depends upon the demand, cost involved, urgency, nature of the goods etc. to decide about a suitable means of transportation. Storage and Warehousing: Storage refers to holding and preserving goods from the time of their procurement or production till the time of their sale. In other words storage involves making suitable arrangements for preserving the goods till they are bought by the consumers and delivered to them. Warehousing is synonymous to storage but is normally used for large-scale storage facility for goods and commodities. You must have seen cold storage where vegetables like tomato, cabbage, potato etc. are stored to be consumed throughout the year. In marketing it is essential to store raw material and finished goods to be used later by the company for production or for resale. Packaging: Packaging involves putting the goods in attractive packets according to the convenience of consumers. Important considerations to be kept in view in this connection are the size of the package and the type of packaging material used. Goods may be packaged in bottles (plastic or glass), boxes (made of tin, glass, paper, plastic), cans or bags. The size of the package generally varies from a few grams to a few kilograms, one piece to a number of pieces of a product, or in any other suitable quantity in terms of weight, count, length etc. Packaging is also used as a promotional tool as suitable and attractive packages influences the demand of the products. It may be noted that packaging is different from packing, which refers to putting goods in suitable containers for transportation purposes. Branding: Branding means giving an attractive name, symbol or identity mark to the product to make a product different from others so that it is known by that name or symbol or mark. For example, Surf is the brand name of a detergent powder produced by Unilever Bangladesh Limited. Similarly, we must be familiar with brands like Pepsodent for toothpaste, Lux for soap and so on. Pricing the Product: Pricing involves decisions regarding fixation of product prices, keeping in view the product costs, the capacity of customers to pay, and the prices of the competitive products. It is an important decision as it influences the sales and so also the profits. So pricing has to be done very carefully. Marketing Promotion: Promotional activities include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity. All promotional activities involve communication with the existing and prospective customers whereby they are made aware of the product, its distinctive features, price, availability etc. The objective of promotional activities is to motivate the customers to buy the product. 8 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

Selecting Distribution Channel: Distribution refers to those activities that are undertaken for sale of products to the customers and the physical transfer thereof. The first aspect i.e., sale of product involves use of middlemen such as wholesalers and retailers whose services are used for making the products available at convenient points and helping in their sale to the ultimate consumers. The second aspect i.e., physical transfer involves warehousing and transportation of goods from the point of production to the point of sale or the consumer. The objective of distribution activities is to ensure that consumers get the goods and services at the place and time most convenient to them and in the desired quantity.

Risk Taking: Even though competent management and insurance can minimize risks, it is a constant reality of marketing because of such losses as bad-debt expense, obsolescence of products, theft by employees and product-liability lawsuits. Selling: Selling is an important function of marketing whereby the ownership of goods and services is transferred from the seller to the buyer for a consideration known as price. To initiate and complete the process of selling, the seller has to inform the prospective buyer about availability of goods, the nature and uses of products, their prices and the needs of the customers that may be effectively satisfied by the product. In the process, seller arouses customers interest in the product and persuades them to buy it.

c) Functions after sales After Sell Services: After sales service is an integral part of any companies sales strategy. A good after sales service can with its excellence help firm to gain market share, reduce after-sales related overheads on products and services sold and most important of all key to customer retention. Most customers will not make a repeat purchase or continue with a companys services in case of a bad experience. Many companies underestimate the potential of after sales service. It gives firm a competitive advantage. Customers expect a high-quality customer service, especially as they focus on getting good value for their money and are willing to spend more with those that deliver the best. The process of managing products after they have been sold has many names, such as After Sales, Reverse Logistics, Returns/Service Management, After Sales Service, and Customer Care. Measuring Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is the state of mind that customers have about a company when their expectations have been met or exceeded over the lifetime of the product or service. The achievement of customer satisfaction leads to company loyalty and product repurchase. Clearly defining and understanding customer satisfaction can help any company to identify opportunities for product and service innovation and serve as the basis for performance appraisal and reward systems. It can also serve as the basis for a customer 9 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

satisfaction surveying program that can ensure that quality improvement efforts are properly focused on issues that are most important to the customer. Taking Corrective Actions: When standards are not met, managers must carefully assess the reasons why and take corrective action. Moreover, the need to check standards periodically to ensure that the standards and the associated performance measures are still relevant for the future. Corrective action depends on the discovery of deviations and the ability to take necessary action. Marketing Control: There is no planning without control. Marketing control is the process of monitoring the proposed plans as they proceed and adjusting where necessary. If an objective states where you want to be and the plan sets out a road map to your destination, then control tells you if you are on the right route or if you have arrived at your destination. Control involves measurement, evaluation, and monitoring. Resources are scarce and costly so it is important to control marketing plans. Control involves setting standards. The marketing manager will then compare actual progress against the standards. Corrective action (if any) is then taken. If corrective action is taken, an investigation will also need to be undertaken to establish precisely why the difference occurred.

Marketing Mix or Marketing Tools

The marketing mix is the set of tactical marketing tools that refers to a unique blend of product, place (distribution), promotion, and pricing strategies (often referred to as the four Ps) designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market. The many possibilities can be collected into four groups of variablesthe four Ps. 1. Product Strategies Typically, the marketing mix starts with the product P. The heart of the marketing mix, the starting point, is the product offering and product strategy. It is hard to design a place strategy, decide on a promotion campaign, or set a price without knowing the product to be marketed. The product includes not only the physical unit but also its package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company image, value, and many other factors. A Godiva chocolate has many product elements: the chocolate itself, a fancy gold wrapper, a customer satisfaction guarantee, and the prestige of the Godiva brand name. We buy things not only for what they do (benefits) but also for what they mean to us (status, quality, or reputation). Products can be tangible goods such as computers, ideas like those offered by a consultant, or services such as medical care. Products should also offer customer value. Note: Definition of Product: According to Philip Kotler, "A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations, and ideas". 10 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

He also defined the product as, "Product means the goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market. According to McCarthy, "Product means the needs satisfying offerings of a firm".

2. Place (Distribution) Strategies Place, or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them. A part of this place P is physical distribution, which involves all the business activities concerned with storing and transporting raw materials or finished products. The goal is to make sure products arrive in usable condition at designated places when needed. Note: Definition of Place: According to Philip Kotler, "Place includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers. According to McCarthy, "Place is concerned with building channel of distribution". 3. Promotion Strategies Promotion is the activities by which the company tries to promote its goods and services to present and potential customers. In another direction we can say that, "Promotion is nothing but some accumulated activities by which the company tries to increase sales volume by motivating the customers". Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotions role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or a product. Each element of the promotion P is coordinated and managed with the others to create a promotional blend or mix. Note: Definition of Promotion: According to Philip Kotler, "Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it". According to McCarthy, "Promotion is communicating information between seller and buyer to change attitude and behavior".

4. Pricing Strategies Price is what a buyer must give up to obtain a product. It is often the most flexible of the four marketing mix elementsthe quickest element to change. Marketers can raise or lower prices more frequently and easily than they can change other marketing mix variables. Price is an important competitive weapon and is very important to the organization because price multiplied by the number of units sold equals total revenue for the firm.

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Note: Definition of Price: According to Philip Kotler, "Price is the amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product. According to William J. Stanton, "Utilities creates values measured as price". According to McCarthy, "Price is charged for something".

Figure 1: The Four Ps of the Marketing Mix There is a concern, which holds that the four Ps concepts take the sellers view of the market, not the buyers view. From the buyers viewpoint, in this age of customer value and relationships, the four Ps might be better described as the four Cs:

Now-a-days, there has also been additional Ps evolved as marketing mix or tools, which are as follows: 5. People All people involved with consumption of a service are important. For example workers, management, consumers etc.

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People are an important factor in servicing industries - travel agencies, restaurants and hair salons. No two persons are the same and no two persons can provide the exact same service to customers. It is therefore important to recruit good people and maintain their good quality service in order to attract and keep the customers. It is common to see: All our technicians are certified ... Our service consultants are all well trained and licensed ... All our instructors have over 10 years experience in the field .. etc. However, such 'guarantee' can only ensure their people achieve a certain level of education or experience. There is no assurance that their service will be good. People decisions are particularly important to the marketing of services. In the services sector, in particular, people planning can be very important where staff have a high level of contact with customers. Marketing effectiveness is likely to be critically affected by the actions of frontline employees who interact with customers. While a car manufacturers employees may be unseen by its customers, a restaurants waiters can make or break the benefit that visitors to the restaurant perceive. People decisions call for close involvement between marketing and human resource management functions to answer such questions as: what are the prerequisite skills for front-line employees? How should staff be rewarded and motivated? 6. Process Process is the procedure, mechanism and flow of activities to provide service or to produce a product. The prevailing ISO standards (such as ISO 9001) are designed to help organizations ensure their process can meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders in their field. Process decisions are again of most importance to marketers in the services sector. The process of production may be of little concern to the consumer of manufactured goods, but it is often of critical concern to the consumer of high contact services. A customer of a restaurant is deeply affected by the manner in which staff members serve them. For busy customers, the speed and friendliness with which a restaurant processes its customers may be just as important as the meal itself. Marketers must work closely with operations managers to design customer handling processes that are both cost-efficient and effective in satisfying customers needs. Note: Procedure A specific, structured, and managed set of work activities, with known inputs designed to produce a specific output.

7. Physical evidence Physical evidence is important in guiding buyers of intangible services through the choices available to them. This evidence can take a number of forms. At its simplest, a brochure can describe and give pictures of important elements of the service producta holiday brochure gives pictorial evidence of hotels and resorts for this purpose. The appearance of staff can give evidence about the nature of a servicea tidily dressed ticket

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clerk for an airline gives some evidence that the airline operation as a whole is run with care and attention. A clean, bright environment used in a service outlet can help reassure potential customers at the point where they make a service purchase decision. 8. Packaging All the activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product are called packaging. Marketing people have always emphasized the importance of packaging as it is the way to make a first impression on the customers; especially for the products on shelves. However, some people believe Packaging should be a part of Product and some people think it is a part of Promotion. Because of the advanced packaging today, products are now protected from contamination, crushing, breakage, and spoilage and it helps in the product to be unaffected from climatic conditions. Packaging is also helpful in elaborating necessary details about the product, company, quantity, ingredients, precautions and side effects etc. In some extreme cases, such as some fancy Japanese products; the cost of packing may exceed the cost of the product itself in order to attract customers. Some say the images of singers, actors and actresses are also packaging - they are what they projected in your mind. How to package an artist is the key to make a star.

Various Concepts of Marketing or Company Orientation Toward Marketplace

1. The Production Concept The production concept holds that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, management should focus on improving production and distribution efficiency. This concept is one of the oldest orientations that guides sellers. 2. The Product Concept The product concept holds that consumers will favor products that offer the most in quality, performance, and innovative features. Under this concept, marketing strategy focuses on making continuous product improvements. Product quality and improvement are important parts of most marketing strategies. 3. The Selling Concept Many companies follow the selling concept, which holds that consumers will not buy enough of the firms products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort. The selling concept is typically practiced with unsought goodsthose that buyers do not normally think of buying, such as insurance or blood donations. 4. The Marketing Concept The marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do. Under the marketing concept, customer focus and value are the paths to sales and profits. Instead of a product-centered make and sell philosophy, the marketing concept is a customer-centered sense and respond philosophy. The job is not to find the right customers for your product but to find the right products for your customers. 14 Final Note-M.G. Mostafa-MBA Student (120161534)-EMBA-1A

5. The Societal Marketing Concept The societal marketing concept questions whether the pure marketing concept overlooks possible conflicts between consumer short-run wants and consumer long-run welfare. It asks if the firm that senses, serves and satisfies individual wants is always doing what's best for consumers and society in the long run. The societal marketing concept holds that marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the consumers and societys well-being. It calls for sustainable marketing, socially and environmentally responsible marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. 6. The Holistic Marketing Concept The holistic marketing concept is based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognizes their breadth and interdependencies. Holistic marketing recognizes that "everything matters" with marketing and that a broad, integrated perspective is often necessary. Four components of holistic marketing are relationship marketing, integrated marketing, internal marketing, and social responsibility marketing. Holistic marketing is thus an approach to marketing that attempts to recognize and reconcile the scope and complexities of marketing activities. Figure 1.3 provides a schematic overview of four broad themes characterizing holistic marketing.

Figure 2: Holistic Marketing

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