Chapter 1

Page 2
The above definitions of marketing points out followings ideas on the nature of
marketing;
a) Marketing covers a variety of functions to be carried out in an integrated
manner
b) Marketing is directed to satisfy the needs/desires/wants of the consumer.
c) Marketing is the act of designing product or services that suits the customers'
desires;
e) Marketing is the method of persuading customers to buy the firm's offerings
f) Marketing is the process of storing, moving, and displaying goods after they
leave the production site.

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The Fundamental Principles/ Features of the Marketing Concept:

a. Customer Orientation: The customer is the one who pays to consume

goods and services produced. The purpose of any business is to create a
customer. It is the customer who determines what a business is? In
modern marketing concept customers are regarded as king and their
satisfaction is given more priority. Customer orientation is a business
strategy that requires management and employees to focus on the
changing wants and needs of its customers. It is an approach to sales and
customer-relations in which staff focus on helping customers to meet their
long-term needs and wants. Here, management and employees align their
individual and team objectives around satisfying and retaining customers.
b. Integrated Marketing: Integrated marketing is a strategy aimed at
unifying different marketing methods, tactics, channels, media and
activities that best support the desired end result of the defined marketing
activity. All the marketing activities are organizationally coordinated under
the marketing department. The marketing department is coordinated and
cooperated in such way that all the marketing functions work together and
develop team work. Various marketing functions like research and
development, pricing, promotions, distributions etc. are tightly integrated
with one another. This is essential because every function has a bearing
on the consumers and the aim is to see that all the functions make a
favourable impact on the consumer.
c. Target market: A market which consist homogeneous need of customers
is called target market. It is a specific group of consumers at which a
company aims its products and services. Target customers are those who
are most likely to buy from the firm. Understanding the target market
helps to determine the potential customer base. Unlike mass marketing,
which offers one product to everyone, target marketing aims a few
products at a specific type of customer or market. Focusing the target
marketing takes time and effort, but it increases the firms income in the
long run. An organization can do better if it can define the boundaries of
its operation and follow a tailored business strategy.
d. Objective Achievement: Objective is a specific result that any firm aims
to achieve within a time frame and with available resources. All the
activities of marketing are directed towards attaining desired
organizational goals or objectives. Business firms may have objectives of
profit maximization, market share maximization, sales maximization etc. It
treats consumer satisfaction as the pathway to the attainment of goals of
the organization. Whereas non-profit firms may have service motive as
their objectives.

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The holistic marketing concept has following features
The means for marketing are:
a. Integrated Marketing: It is practiced to efficiently and effectively
utilize available marketing resources. It includes coordinating all
marketing matters and establishing inter-department relation and
coordination. All the marketing activities, marketing resources and
channels are organizationally coordinated under the marketing
department. The marketing department is coordinated and cooperated
in such way that all the marketing functions work together and develop
team work.
b. Relationship Marketing: Relationship marketing is about forming
long-term relationships with customers, partners and stakeholders of
business rather than trying to encourage a one-time sale. The key
stakeholders are customers, employees, channel members and
financial institutions. It is practiced to develop mutually satisfying long-
term relationships with customers to retain them. Amicable (good and
friendly) relations are developed with all the stakeholders to retain
their business. A network of relationships is built.
c. Internal Marketing: Internal marketing is a process that occurs
within a company or organization whereby the functional process
aligns, motivates, and empowers employees at all management levels
to deliver a satisfying customer experience. Internal marketing is based
on the idea that customers attitudes toward a company are based on
their entire experience with that company, and not just their
experience with the companys products. Any time a customer
interacts with an employee, it affects their overall satisfaction.
Everyone from a lower level worker to the top level manager helps to
shape that customer's experience. Therefore, customer satisfaction is
deeply dependent on the performance of a company's staff. It is
practiced to make all managers and employees customer-oriented.
They are given training to become customer-oriented. Customer think
is promoted organization wide.
d. Societal Marketing: It is practiced to enhance business ethics,
consumer satisfaction and social welfare. Organizational objectives can
be achieved through consumer need satisfaction in ways that protect
the interest of consumers and safeguard the well- being of society.
Societal marketing can be conducted by improving environmental
quality, creating employment opportunities, supporting social and
business ethics etc.
e. Performance Marketing: It requires understanding the financial and
nonfinancial returns to business and society from marketing activities
and programs. It is practiced to ensure financial accountability in
profitability terms. It assesses the value of marketing efforts. Driving
the sales and revenue growth of an organization holistically by
reducing costs and increasing sales through maintaining quality goods
and quality performance. Smart marketers go beyond sales revenue to
examine the marketing record and interpret what is happening to
market share, customer loss rate, customer satisfaction, product
quality, and other measures. They also consider the legal, ethical,
social and environmental effects of marketing activities and programs.
The goals of the organization are effectively achieved through
marketing think.

Marketing Intelligence System

Informal Source: These sources are casual in natures and can be
obtain by informal environment scanning. It involves the followings;
a. Reading newspaper, magazines, trade journals to collect new
information and development regarding marketing environment and
their surroundings.
b. Information regarding customer preferences and attitude can be
collected through public relation and interview to customers,
suppliers, channel members and other stakeholders of the firms.
c. Maintaining close and well defined communication systems in
internal marketing management to gather necessary point of views,
opinions and belief regarding problems and prospects inside the
firm.

Formal Source: those are the sources which are created officially
in the firm and has regular flow of information. Formal
environmental scanning need to be conducted through following
methods to receive qualitative information;
a. Sales Personnel: Sales personnel are also called sales persons
or sales force. Sales personnel are employees who are tasked
with getting new clients, retaining old customers, finding and
promoting products, and overseeing regular purchases. These
are the personnel who work close to customers and markets.
They know about all new trends in markets as well as customers
preference and their attitude. They provide adequate and vital
information to the decision makers of the firms.
b. Marketing intermediaries: Marketing intermediaries refers to
resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services
agencies, and financial intermediaries. These are the people who
help the company promote, sell, and distribute its products to
final buyers. These includes agent, distributors, wholesalers,
retailers, banks etc. Since, they handle varieties of competitive
products and directly linked with customers and close to market,
they are aware of policies and strategies of various organization.
They may also know about product promotion schemes, price
change schemes and new product available in market. Their
information may be vital and useful for marketing managers and
decision makers.
c. Job Opening or vacancy Announcement: A position, office,
or place of accommodation that is unfilled or unoccupied is
known as Vacancy. It is another way of gaining information
 through the interviewing qualified candidates who are applied
for certain vacancy. The job opening may be real or fictitious. It
is believed that if vacancy is announced and handsome
incentives are offered, various qualified people including
competitors staff may apply for the post and while interviewing
them secret and important information can be obtained which
may be useful for decision makers of the firms.
d. Private Intelligence Agencies: A private intelligence agency
is a private sector or non-governmental organization devoted to
the collection and analysis of information and make their
services available to governments as well as individual
consumers and to large business firms. Actually, they sell
commercial intelligence information to interested parties. Some
big business firms hire such kind of private agencies to find
specific information regarding their marketing activities,
competitors and their business strategies.
e. Specialist or Expert: Normally, one who specializes in a
certain field can be expected to have a great deal of expertise.
Expert is often used to title the persons who are proficient in a
certain area. Since, they are high calibre and skilled, they may
be vital for collecting and suggesting useful information
regarding marketing activities. Therefore, many firms hire
experts and specialist for collecting and scanning marketing
environment.