Marketing Concepts

what are the marketing concepts?

Despite the fact that modern business is changing rapidly and it’s radically different from 10, 20, or 50 years ago, some core marketing concepts have remained the same.Marketing conceptsrelate to the philosophy a business use to identify and fulfill the needs of its customers, benefiting both the customer and the company.There are numerous marketing concepts which are used by marketers as a reference in the marketing field. Some of these marketing concepts exist to date, whilesome others are outdated and have been taken over by other marketing concepts.

The marketing concept is the belief that companies must assess the needs of their consumers first and foremost. Based on those needs, companies can make decisions in order to satisfy their consumers’ needs, better than their competition. Companies that hold this philosophy believe that their consumers are the driving forces of their business. Nowadays, most companies have incorporated the marketing concept.

The production concept

When the production concept was defined, aproduction oriented business dominated the market. This was from the beginning of capitalism to the mid 1950’s. During the era of the production concept, businesses were concerned primarily withproduction, manufacturing, and efficiency issues. Companies that use the production concept have the belief that customers primarily want products that are affordable and accessible.

The production concept is based on the approach that a company can increase supply as it decreases its costs. Moreover, the production concept highlights that a business can lower costsvia mass production.A company oriented towards productionbelieves in economies of scale(decreased production cost per unit), wherein mass production can decrease cost and maximize profits. As a whole, the production concept is oriented towards operations.

The product concept

This concept works on an assumption thatcustomers prefer products of greaterqualityandpriceandavailabilitydoesn’t influence their purchase decision. And so company develops a product of greater quality which usually turns out to be expensive.

One of the best modern examples would be IT companies, who are always improving and updating their products, to differentiate themselves from the competition. Since the main focus of the marketers is the product quality, they often lose or fail to appeal to customers whose demands are driven by other factors like price, availability, usability, etc.

The selling concept

Production and product concept both focus on production but selling concept focuses on making an actual sale of the product. Selling concept focuses on making every possible sale of the product, regardless of the quality of the product or the need of the customer.

The selling concept highlights that customers would buy a company’s productsonly if the company were to sell these products aggressively.This philosophy doesn’t include building relations with the customers. This means that repeated sales are rare, and customer satisfaction is not great.

The marketing concept

A company that believes in the marketing conceptplaces the consumer at the center of the organization. All activities are geared towards the consumer. A business,aims to understand the needs and wants of a customer. It executes the marketing strategy according to market research beginning from product conception to sales.

By focusing on theneeds and wantsof a target market, a company can deliver more value than its competitors. The marketing concept emphasizes the“pull” strategy". This means thata brand is so strong that customers would always prefer your brand to others’.

The societal marketing concept

This is a relatively new marketing concept. While the societal marketing concept highlights the needs and wants of a target market and the delivery of better value than its competitors, it alsoemphasizes the importance of the well-being of customers and society as a whole(consumer welfare or societal welfare).

The societal marketing concept calls upon marketers to build social and ethical considerations into their marketing practices. They must balance and juggle the often conflicting criteria of company profits, consumer want satisfaction, and public interest.

Conclusion

The five marketing concepts are a good example of how marketing has changed throughout the years. It has shifted its focus from products to users.

Modern companies have to put users first, and build not only a good product (or service), but also a good experience around it. If you need help with creatingmarketing strategy, contact us today and we’ll be glad to help you.