MARKETING AS A SOCIAL PROCESS

“A societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating,
offering and freely exchanging products and services of value with other”

Marketing is called a social process due to its concern for the long-term welfare of the society. It builds
the long-term relationship between buyers and sellers through an integrated marketing program which
involves customer satisfaction, research, product planning and development, etc.

In this above formal definition by Dr. Philip Kotler, there are a couple of things which is important to
note, that Marketing is a social process through which individuals and groups fulfill their needs what
they want from others. And in this process people create, offer, and freely exchange product and
services which other people also value.

Let us understand this by simple illustration; you are buying chocolate in exchange for some monitory
returns to the shopkeeper who is providing the chocolates.

In this social process, it is essential to fulfilling certain conditions if the potential exchange has to exist.

1. There must be at least two parties for the exchange to happen.

2. Each party should have something that produces or create value for the other party.

If I have something to offer, products or services but if other person does not value it, then the
exchange is not feasible.

3. Each party is capable of communication and delivery for the value that they hold with themselves.

If because of the geographical constraint or because of the other constraint that two parties are unable
to communicate and deliver what they have, then probably again this exchange is not going to happen.

4. Each party is free to accept or reject the exchange offer.

If an exchange is happening forcibly or probably an exchange is happening just because someone is
showing gratitude or someone is gifting something to other, these processes cannot be termed as an
exchange.

5. Each party believes that it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party.

If you do not believe that another party is probably whom you should deal with then again, the
exchange will not happen. This condition is of significance when probably two countries have an
exchange, suppose it is about their defence system which one country develops it then obviously it is
not going to sell to a country which it does not perceive as a friend because it can understand that in
certain conditions the same defence system which is it is offering to the other country can be utilized
against it.

According to Dr. Philip Kotler’s marketing as a social exchange process is all about the concept of value
that there will be an exchange of values between two parties. So, what is value basically, the value is
something which is very central to the marketing process and value is a function of benefit and the cost.
Mathematical it is represented that value is basically a function of benefit and cost or to be more precise
it is (Benefit — Cost).