REDEFINING MARKETING Received : 12 February 2004 “Lambin (2000) states that the business philosophy and an action oriented process which is valid for every organization in context with its constituency of users.” Lambin further makes it distinction between “strategic marketing i.e. a system of thoughts” and “operational marketing i.e. an active process.” From the above statements one can derive that marketing is both a management function and a management orientation, applicable in all organizational contexts. The marketing concept’s five clements are crucial to the long term success of goods, services, solutions, organizations, people, place or idea. A consumer orientation means examining consumer needs not product capability and devising a plan to satisfy them beyond their expectations. Goods, services or solutions are scen as means to accomplish ends not as the end themselves. A market oriented approach means either customer or competitor-focussed failing which business performance will be adversely effected and the firms will be labeled as “strategically inept.” The value based philosophy means offering goods, services or solutions that consumer perceive to have superior values relative to their cost and the offering of the competitors. With an integrated marketing focus, all the activities relating to goods, service or solutions are coordinated, including finance, production, engineering, inventory control, research and development and marketing, A goal oriented firm employs marketing to achieve both short term and long term goals - which may be profit finding to find a cure for a discasc, increase tourism, election of a political candidate, a better company image, and so on. Marketing helps attain goals by orienting a firm toward pleasing consumers and offering desired goods, services or solutions. A marketing manager can adapt the following things to adhere to the spirit of the marketing context : (1) Create customer focus through the firm in which the first customer be treated an employee of the organization. Listen to the customer. June 2005 Business Research 23GB) (4) Define marketing as market intelligenc (5) Target customers preciscly. Define and cultivate distinctive competences. (6) Manage for profitability not sales volume. (7) Make customer value the guiding star (8) Let the customer define quality. (9) Build customer relationship loyalty. (10) Manage the company culture alongwith strategy and structure. : Destroy bureaucracy, (il) The benefit of a marketing orientation : Marketing stresses customer analysis and satisfaction beyond expectations directs the resources of firms to make the goods, services and solutions and adapts to changes in customer traits and needs. The marketing philosophy of selling is used to communicate with and underst and consumers — consumer dissatisfaction leads to changes in policy, not a stronger or different sales pitch. Marketing looks for real differences in consumer tastes and devises offerings to satisfy them. Marketing is geared with long run and marketing goals refl company goal ct overall Marketing views customer needs broadly rather than narrowly Leading with vision means constantly being alert to new opportunities. By sharing the vision we can make tomorrow absolutely extraordinary. Unless a consumer is happy with both the basic good or service or solution offered by a seller and the quality of customer service, the marketing cannot be called customer oriented as customer atisfaction is the ultimate crucial element which makes the marketing process successful. It is well known to the successful firms that the customer is the ultimate judge of quality of a shopping experience, consumer enjoys more choice than before in stores, brands and channels and have access to an ever increasing | amount of information upon which to base their buying decisions. Capturing the purchasing power of these sophisticated consumers is a difficult and constant challenge. It is a well known fact that the companies with satisfied customers have a i good opportunity to convert them into loyal customers, who purchase from those firms over an extended period. From a consumer-oriented perspective, when marketing activities are performed with the conscious intention of developing and managing long-term and trusting customer relationships. [2 Business Research June 2005Marketing stimulates demand, a basic task for it is to generate consumer enthusiasm for goods, services and solutions. Marketing function activities relate to product development, packaging, distribution, advertising and personal selling, price marking and administering consumer credit programs. Marketing functions also include environmental analysis and marketing research, broadening the scope of marketing, consumer analysis, product planning, distribution planning, promotion planning, price planning, and marketing management. Marketing may be viewed from both business and consumer perspective, and it influences us daily. As goods and service providers, we may such marketing related decisions as choosing who customers are, what goods and services to offer where to sell them. What to stress in promotion ? What prices to charge ? How to be ethical and responsible and whether to operate globally. In view of the above discussions, P. L, Maggu redefins. Marketing as follows : “Marketing is a process of satisfying customer’s demand for a product or service or solution beyond his / her expectations, taking into account customer value or value addition to customer and social responsibility as compared with a competitor”. The above discussion also fulfills the concept of “Marketing in the Redefined form”. —Dr. BL. Maggu G.S.B.A Greater Noida, (U. P) INDIA. R June 2005 Business Research