Theodore Levitt , a renowned economist, depicted that any initiative aimed at satisfying the needs of its target market is an industry. This definition contrasted previous scholars and economists who viewed an industry as a process of producing goods . He emphasised that for modern companies to prosper , they have to focus on satisfying the needs of their customers as opposed to selling their product portfolio. F urther , he reckons that most corporations fail due to management failure and not market saturation. Thus, he differentiated marketing and sales by articulating that selling refers to a set of techniques employed by a seller to convert a service or product into monetary value. Marketing , on the other hand , relates to all initiatives that are undertaken to meet the needs of a customer. This spurns from the product, production process, delivery and consequently its consumption ( Abdelal & Tedlow , 2003) . Companies venture into various initiatives with the aim of selling their products. In this rega rd, t hey venture into extensive market research, analysis of the market, market survey as well as analysis of the customer s’ needs . Consequently, t hey may find an unexploited opportunity, a niche or a way of improv ing the goods or services current ly in the market. They thus embark on marketing initiatives that include product design, development, distribution, awareness creation and sales. All th ese initiatives ensure that an industry produces the right product, for the right market segment with the correct pricing at the opportune moment ( Kotler & Armstrong , 2013) . The concept of marketing is explored in this paper. The essay will highlight this concept from its early stages to the current marketing strategies, initiatives, trends, and processes.
The Development of Marketing
T echnological disruption , which is closely associated with industrial revolution, has also played a role in disrupt ing marketing. Over the years , organizations have continually improved their marketing strateg ies to remain relevant and at per with the evolving business environment. The conventional marketing ha s now been split into specialized marketing units that handle distinct functions that are all geared towards satisfying the customer s’ need s . Th is specialization has led to the development of sales, marketing, retailing and advertising departments in modern organizations. Organizations have now taken into account the importance of hav ing a dedicated team that continually scans the market, understands the customer pain as well as putting a product in the market that fulfills th e s e needs. Th is department works closely with the sales, marketing, and branding team to form the modern business development function of an organization. Th ese development s ha ve n’t occurred in a snapshot but have been characteri z ed by gradual improvements in technology and science that have further altered the needs of the consumer.
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Production Orientation Era
This is the earliest marketing ideology which stated that corporate success is defined by profits. The product orientation era dates back to the period between the industrial revolution and the nineteenth century. In this period, corporations drafted strategies aimed at minimizing production costs to maximize profits. These initiatives involved improved production efficiency as well as bulk production in taking advantage of the economies of scale. Production in this era, however, was handmade and made to meet the customers’ expectations ( Malhotra, 2007 ). Likewise, i n this era, industrial standards did not exist, and customer’s safety and satisfaction were based on an emphasis on metrics. Everything was custom made, making the cost of production high. As a result, individuals owned few items. The industrial revolution disrupted the creation of custom-made products by introducing bulk production. Bulk production of goods meant that production could take long hours thus minimizing the production cost while cutting on costs. The decline in cost led to a change in customers’ preference as they were now willing to purchase standardized goods at a lower price compared to the customized goods (Malhotra, 2007).
In this phase, manufacturers focused on improving the efficiency of their operations, cutting production costs while meeting the diverse needs of their customers. This marketing paradigm was common in the communist nations but is slowly being disrupted by the globalized market-oriented approach. The driving force of this era was that the customers need was the availability of affordable products and services. To cut on cost, organizations would produce in bulk and reach out to their target customers (Malhotra, 2007). This meant that the production lines were narrow with the pricing strategy being regulated by production and distribution costs. Organizations did little or no research on the general customer taste and preference. The packaging of products was merely done for protection but did not emphasize branding or promotion. Instead, organizations gave emphasis to the production and distribution of products as requested by their customers. In this era, corporations and the consumer fraternity viewed advertising as a way of promoting low-quality products (Bearden et al., 2011).
Product Orientation Era
The production era led to the proliferation of products in the market. These products did not address specific customer needs and were more focused on availability and affordability. This heightened competition amongst corporations who were offering similar products. To counter this competition, organizations shifted their focus from production-oriented marketing to a product-oriented approach. In this approach, organizations resorted to adding more features to products in the hope that customers would buy the products based on the extra features. This new approach of producing an ideal product for all customers, however, led to the hiking of prices as well as extravagant feature claims by some manufacturers. Nevertheless, the approach ignited a spark on the need to do a market analysis and understand the needs of various customers. Organizations that did thorough research would then integrate new features to boost their sales. The most important characteristic in this era was the need to develop the best product that would ultimately sell itself. This approach was further faced by the drawback of pricing since customers were unwilling to pay more for these products (Malhotra, 2007).
Similar to its predecessor, the product orientation era failed to address specific customer needs based on their preference and circumstances. This is because consumers differ in terms of their needs, taste, and preference as well as their social, cultural and religious backgrounds. Despite this shortcoming, the approach revolutionized the marketing landscape from focusing on reducing production cost to producing superior products that would capture the customers’ interests. The driving force in this era was that customers prefer high quality and innovative products. The manufacturers, thus, did not give any emphasis to product promotion (Bearden et al., 2011).
Sales Orientation Era
In their quest to produce high-quality products for their target market, manufacturing companies devised strategies to remain competitive in the marketplace. Some realized that with their advancement in terms of machinery and technology, they could make more products than the market needed. To understand the customer, they realized that many customers don’t buy goods unless they are persuaded into buying them. These companies thus focused more on the needs of the sellers as opposed to meeting the consumer needs. Thus, this approach was based on a number of assumptions, but chiefly, the fact that buyers do not like spending their money, and thus they must be persuaded. The sales oriented companies further assume that a client will not mind being persuaded and will be comfortable with a sales agent calling over and over to follow up and persuade him or her into buying. These companies further believe that their success can only be attributed to their aggressiveness and promotional techniques (Bearden et al., 2011).
The sales-oriented marketing is still operational in the 21st Century, for instance in the insurance sector. The impact of this marketing approach is, and its effectiveness relies on the long-term customer satisfaction. For instance, i n the long term , the customer is given the privilege of evaluating the quality of the product or service offered, after - sale services as well as returns on their investment. Due to heightened competition , companies now could n o t just rely on adding features to products. Thus, t hey evolved into a different view which reckoned that customers would only buy a product or service if the manufacturer promote d this particular product or service . The focus o f this type of marketing was creative advertising and promotional techniques used to bypass the clients ’ unwillingness to buy to make a sale ( Nwankwo & Gbadamosi , 2010 ).
Marketing Orientation Era
To maintain a competitive edge in the market environments, organizations have shifted their energy from sales-oriented marketing to market-oriented marketing. Manufacturing companies undertake the initiative of a thorough market analysis where they classify customers into segments based on their needs and expectations. This segmentation has been fueled by technological advancement which has changed consumer needs. For instance, a significant proportion of customers, due to the internet, education and their jobs require up to date information on products and services. Some segments, on the other hand, are not financially endowed. Moreover, other segments do not use certain products or services based on the legal, religious or cultural doctrines in their society. This kind of customer segmentation ensures that manufacturing companies have to design and manufacture products that meet the needs of specific market segments. The minor deviations in this market segments are served by alternative products offered to different segments in the same geographical region. This marketing approach is working well with the current technological, and industrial disruption since the world is now a global marketplace. Consequently, global organizations can now effectively manufacture many product lines and serve numerous clients (Kahn, 2001).
This modern approach is driven by the assumption that clients want to satisfy their needs and are willing to spend on products and services that do so. Legislation, as well as improved awareness amongst consumers, have diversified these needs. The modern customer is also keen on the product information, usage and availability as well as delivery timelines. This means that unlike the previous marketing approaches that focused primarily on the production, product, and the seller, the modern marketing is centered on the consumer. This suggests that all the marketing decisions, from production, distribution, sales, and consumption are centered on consumer needs (Kahn, 2001). In this regard, all the stakeholders in the product lifecycle strive to produce the best customer experience. Unlike before, companies have created quality control departments that are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring continuous delivery of superior customer value. Industry standards have been set to guide on the packaging as well as dissemination of product information to consumers and the production of healthy products. To check on the conformance of companies to this marketing approach, it’s paramount to review an organization’s inter-functional coordination as well as competitor and customer orientation. This approach to marketing is further guided by the assumption and belief that the customer is the most important person. Corporations, thus, have to find a need in the life of their consumer and fulfill it in the best way possible to outdo competitors (Kahn, 2001).
Relationship Marketing Orientation Era
Organizations in the nineteenth and the twentieth century believed that their sole purpose was to make money. This guided their management in implementing policies that were geared towards minimizing production and distribution costs to maximize profits. Little or no effort was taken to improve the living conditions of the community within their area of operations. This continued for a long time until environmental conservation agencies, as well as policymakers, highlighted how these corporations polluted the environment with their waste ( Nwankwo & Gbadamosi , 2010 ). To counter this menace, governments drafted legislation and standards that guided safeguarding of the environment as well as the welfare of the communities. Consequently, organizations were required to undertake community initiatives with the aim of uplifting the living standards of members of the community within which they operated. It’s in these initiatives that the marketing approach evolved from not only focusing on the customer needs to giving back to the society. Social marketers believe that involvement in community social responsibility by an organization improves an organization’s acceptance by a particular community ( Nwankwo & Gbadamosi , 2010 ) .
Social marketers also support the government initiatives in safeguarding natural resources since their misuse will only mean short-term gains. The approach further guided the re-engineering of products to meet the eco-friendly standards and guidelines that are geared towards safeguarding the environment. For instance, motor vehicle dealers engineered their engines to reduce toxic emissions while adapting their engines to reduce noise pollution. This meant that instead of working on soundproofing for the car occupants, the dealers have to adapt the engine to be more noise friendly to the environment ( Nwankwo & Gbadamosi , 2010 ). These developments have however resulted in mixed reactions with many shareholders who rely on dividends and profits discouraging community social responsibility initiatives. Competing organizations have also faulted each other’s intentions in these initiatives, with some accusing others of using these initiatives as marketing avenues. The modern view of marketing is thus characterized by focusing on the needs of the customer while maintaining a long-lasting social connection with the consumer. Therefore, an organization’s success is pegged on its ability to establish a long lasting mutual relationship with its clientele (Wood, 2016).
The Current Marketing Process
This refers to a systematic process undertaken by an entrepreneur in identifying a favorable environment to offer a particular product or service. This process involves scanning for opportunities, identifying a market niche, selecting a market venture and developing a marketing mix to aid in exploiting that opportunity ( Kotler & Armstrong , 2013) . To target the right clients in any market , it is paramount for an entrepreneur to undertake a market analysis to identify viable business opportunities. Depending on the findings , the entrepreneur proceeds to select a niche he or she can fulfill in the selected market. In scanning for opportunities , the entrepreneur focuses on the needs of the consumer that are either not met or aren't adequately addressed by the competitor. For new entrants into the market , their market ing process should focus on long - term prospects so that the ir s tability is secured. This would equally improve their performance towards hitting the breakeven point. It's crucial for such firms to subscribe to a market information system that provides valuable insight into the target market dynamics.
An entrepreneur need s to perform a thorough market research that offers a guide on the market value, number of competitors, their strategy, strengths and weaknesses. This information is critic a l in guid ing venture positioning , having taken into account the market trends and disruptive factors. The entrepreneur should thus select a viable opportunity and group the target market into respective segments. The segmentation can be done based on social class, age and location. Subsequent evaluation of th e s e segments will separately guide on which segment to focus on further in marketing appropriate products ( Sweet & Meiksins, 2015 ) . The entrepreneur , after successful segmentation , undertakes a process of document ing the customers’ respective needs and drafts a strategy on how to meet the needs of the target segment. It’s expected that members of a segment should have similar needs and expectations. The guiding principle in the selection of a market segment should be its attractiveness to offer a long lasting and viable opportunity. The opportunity being that the segment will give the entrepreneur an opportunity to develop a valuable product or service to meet the customer needs . In the event that the entrepreneur targets only a small segment of the market and develops strategies to meet their needs the small segment is referred to as a niche (Keillor, 2007) .
An entrepreneur can also decide to provide different products or services to serve different market segments. It’s however advisable to focus on a single segment or two segments in the beginning then gradually incorpora te other segments (Keillor, 2007). The final step of the marketing process involves an entrepreneur positioning his products or services to the consumer. The position has to be distinct and differentiated from the competitor’s products. This stage involves the creation of a clear and vivid perception of the product or service being offered to the consumer. Thus, for an entrepreneur to strategically position a product or service in a market segment, he or she has to specify the competitive advantage the new product or service offers over its competitors. Therefore, the focus should be directed at the marketing initiatives with the aim of creating awareness and disseminating value to the target market. To be effective and efficient in positioning a new product or service, the pricing must be competitive. The product also has to offer improved value and accessibility compared to the competing brands (Keillor, 2007).
Marketing Mix
This refers to a set of tools and approaches that an organization employs in meeting the needs of a target market. The tools are grouped into what famously came to be coined as 4P’s of marketing. Marketing managers are tasked with the responsibility of controlling these parameters to create unique value for the customers in close monitoring of the internal and external factors. The first P represents the product. The term product in a marketing perspective refers to the tangible and intangible aspects of the business, and whose formulation the manager must decide on (Bowman & Gatignon, 2010). The marketing manager in this stage must come up with a brand name, packaging format, product composition in terms of functionality, quality and warranty decisions. At this level, all findings and recommendations on areas of improvement on the current market products must be put into consideration. The manager must formulate policy for warranty as well as returned goods while ensuring repair, support and safety precautions and policies are in place.
The second P refers to the price decisions that a marketing manager must formulate in driving a marketing campaign (Bowman & Gatignon, 2010). The first step is the development of a pricing strategy that will ensure easier penetration in the target market. This covers the promotional cost, discounts, wholesale as well as the retail pricing. If the product or service is being offered in different segments, corresponding variations in prices should be drafted and price flexibility documented. The third P is an acronym for place and is used to describe the distribution channel from the manufacturing point to the consumer. The sales and marketing departments must survey the target market, decide on the distribution channel, warehouses, transportation, inventory as well as the responsible members in each of these marketing touch points (Bowman & Gatignon, 2010).
Apart from the logistical planning and order process, the marketing manager must factor in the communication channels to use to disseminate the product as well as promotional messages. The manager must also draft comprehensive advertising and promotional strategies that are engaging in promoting customer engagement. These promotional decisions form the last P of the marketing mix framework that may also encompass budgeting, personal selling as well as public relations. Various scholars and industrial stakeholders have applied this marketing framework and evolved it further to accommodate the human aspects that are integral to modern marketing (Bowman & Gatignon, 2010).
Management of Marketing Efforts
On successfully doing a survey of a business niche and identifying a target market, an entrepreneur ventures into the actualization phase of the marketing which is also dubbed the development phase. This entails setting the appropriate marketing mix for the selected market segment. The entrepreneur also has to adopt a number of functions to guide the business operations as outlined below;
Market Analysis
In this phase, an entrepreneur reviews the internal strengths and weaknesses in relation to the market forces. The strengths may be due to a better understanding of the market, experience, and superior products, technical or financial prowess. If the company has experienced marketing personnel, then the entrepreneur will draft a marketing strategy that capitalizes on this strength. If the workforce is young, vibrant and techno-savvy, then the entrepreneur may focus on online marketing to boost sales as well as customer engagement. The marketing manager should equally consider external factors such as political instability that may negatively affect the business. These factors may affect the business positively or negatively and are assessed to help make sound decisions (Keillor, 2007) .
Marketing Planning
Marketing planning refers to a process that is carried out by an entrepreneur to analyze a market to come up with an effective entry strategy. The process covers formulation of corporate objectives and their eventual communication to relevant stakeholders. The plan takes into account the available resources in an organization and their availability to support product launch or development (Keillor, 2007). The planning phase is also aimed at performing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the venture by re-evaluating the risks and opportunities presented in a market segment. The findings guide in the formulation of a comprehensive marketing strategy and eventual monitoring of the marketing plan
Marketing Implementation and Control
The marketing implementation phase is aimed at assigning relevant responsibilities to individuals and setting goals. These goals must support the corporate objectives outlined in the marketing planning phase. The marketing manager must give precise details on the deliverables for various individuals, teams, and groups. The details outline the tasks, timelines and expected deliverables for the marketing drive to be successful. Employees in this phase gather the required resources from the company and strive to implement the marketing plan as guided. The marketing manager, on the other hand, enforces controls to ensure that all these activities are in line with the corporate plan (Keillor, 2007) . Also, t he marketing manager must formulate standards, measure performance, compare results as well as initiate corrective actions. All these measures are aimed at ensuring that the marketing objectives are met within the stipulated time following ethical standards. Without proper controls, corporate marketing resources can be misused, or the marketing plan may not be implemented as expected. It's therefore paramount for marketing managers to ensure that all departmental personnel is aware of their duties, minimum working standards, and their deliverables. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan can guide plan revision as well as reward performers.
References
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