Initial Postings: 

Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought
was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy
of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the
assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section
and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they
aid in your discussion.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
i. Before reading this chapter or beginning class, what did you expect marketing to be?  Ask a
family member, classmate, or coworker what they think marketing is.  How can persuade
them that marketing enhances a mutually beneficial exchange between a customer and a
company.

ii. Think about a recent time when you bought something or tried to do so and you were treated
poorly as a customer. What was the essential problem? If you ran the company, what would
you do to ensure happier and more loyal customers? 

[Your post must be substantive and demonstrate insight gained from the course material. Postings
must be in the student's own words - do not provide quotes!]
 [Your initial post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with
font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then
attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]
Submitting the Initial Posting:Your initial posting should be completed by Thursday, 11:59 p.m.
EST. 
Response to Other Student Postings:  Respond substantively to the post of at least two peers,
by Friday, 11:59 p.m. EST. A peer response such as “I agree with her,” or “I liked what he said about
that” or similar comments are not considered substantive and will not be counted for course credit.
[Continue the discussion through Sunday,11:59 p.m. EST by highlighting differences between your
postings and your colleagues' postings. Provide additional insights or alternative perspectives]
Evaluation of posts and responses: Your initial posts and peer responses will be evaluated on the
basis of the kind of critical thinking and engagement displayed. The grading rubric evaluates the
content based on seven areas:
Content Knowledge & Structure, Critical Thinking, Clarity & Effective Communication, Integration of
Knowledge & Articles, Presentation, Writing Mechanics, and Response to Other Students.
 Reflection and Discussion

This week's readings provided an understanding of the term "marketing." Marketers

need to understand the importance of marketing. They must be able to identify what their

firm is selling, its customer base, and what it is marketing (Iacobucci, 2021). The customers,

or the stakeholders, have the most significant impact on firm profits and are, therefore, a

critical part of firm decisions. Marketers should know their firm's customers well to know

what products it needs to sell. Because of the current customer-oriented environment, the

firms understand the importance of building and maintaining relationships with their

customers. Therefore, a firm must have a relationship with its customer. Today, marketing is

about providing value to the customer through different channels (email, website, social

media) rather than just on the traditional "point of purchase," which has more meaning during

the "production-focused stage (Iacobucci, 2021).

Marketers today are more involved in effectively developing customer relationships

instead of focusing on "marketing." The current environment is customer-oriented. The

customer has changed from a "product-centric customer" to a "people-centric customer ."In

the past, the focus was mainly on a product or service to the customers (Iacobucci, 2021).

Firms need to understand the type of firm and customer and the importance of having a

"bargain-oriented customer. It is also important that a firm knows its customer. Customers are

an important part of the decision-making process. Marketing firms should know its customer

and what products they should be selling to them. The customers, or the stakeholders, have

the greatest impact on firm profits and are, therefore, a critical part of firm decisions.

Customers are more involved in the decision-making process. Customers have gained power

in influencing the decision-making process. It should be noted that marketing frameworks

like the 5Cs and "4Ps" of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion) are essential to

creating customer loyalty to increase the sales of a product or service (Iacobucci, 2021).
Question 1:

Before I read chapter 1, I thought that marketing was used to distribute a product to

the consumer. "Firms' marketing plans focus on creating value for customers (through

offering quality products or services). However, as the customer has become more influential

in the market, firms must consider a customer-focused marketing strategy (Iacobucci, 2021).

This week's readings help me to understand that marketing today is an exchange relationship

between a firm and its customers wherein the customer wants something from the firm, and

the firm wants something from the customer. A firm needs to know what it is selling and to

whom to be effective. Before this week's readings, I was unaware there was a difference

between "marketing" and "advertising." It was the significant difference that I was able to

find between the marketing management framework and the advertising management

framework. Marketing, like advertising, helps firms communicate their firm and product to

customers (Iacobucci, 2021).

I asked my sister about the difference between marketing and advertising. She told me

that marketing is the plan to tell people that there is a product to sell. She stated, "advertising

is just telling the product to the people " (Iacobucci, 2021). It is essential to know the

difference between marketing and advertising. I know that marketing is vital to increasing

sales and sales revenue. It is more than the plan to tell people about the product to be sold. It

is about developing relationships with the customers. I learned that advertising is essential to

tell the product to the customers. It can be a form of marketing that helps a firm to sell the

product to the customers. As marketing has become more critical, marketers need to know

more about it. There is a difference between marketing and advertising; marketing has more

meaning to the customer than advertising does. I think marketing firms should put more

effort into getting their customers the best product and service, but I still do not know more

about marketing (Iacobucci, 2021).

Question 2:

Recently, I bought a cell phone from a company. There was a problem with the

package. My phone was damaged, so it could not be shipped. I received it promptly. I was

told that customer service called the company to resolve the issue. They said they had to do

their work and then they would get back to me. The next day I still did not get back to me. I

was asked to call again, but there was still no answer. When I called, I did not get through

because they said they were having an issue with the phone line (Gyenge et al., 2021). The

problem was that my phone could not be shipped because it was damaged, but they could not

get through to me to inform me. I asked for an explanation. I said that I needed my phone and

that the problem was the issue with my phone. They told me that they had sent an email to a

customer service team member asking for his help. I have not heard from the customer

service person, and I have not received my cell phone. I was not treated well as a customer,

and I was unhappy with the service that I received from the company (Gyenge et al., 2021).

I would do a lot more customer service if I ran a company. I would provide a

guarantee for my product and make sure that I got my customers' approval before doing

anything. I would ensure a good relationship with my customers before starting my marketing

plan (Gyenge et al., 2021). I would ensure that my products were sent to the customer in the

same condition and promptly. I would also try to solve any problem that my customers had. I

would also make sure that I treat my customers fairly and be honest with them. I would also

use marketing to help my customers get the best products and services they need (Gyenge et

al., 2021).

References

Gyenge, B., Máté, Z., Vida, I., Bilan, Y., & Vasa, L. (2021). A new strategic marketing

management model for the specificities of E-commerce in the supply chain. Journal

of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(4), 1136-1149.

Iacobucci, D. (2021). Marketing management. Cengage Learning.