NATURE AND SCOPE OF MARKETING;OVERVIEW OF MARKETING.
Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer needs profitably.
It is also the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer or seller to the consumer/buyer.
It is also a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products of value with the others.
Marketing management refers to the overall process of planning, implementing, controlling the marketing program (strategy) and individual marketing functions; appraising the risks and benefits in decision making and focusing on total quality.
Sales/selling on the other hand is the transfer of ownership and possession of goods to the purchasers.
APPLICATION AREAS OF MARKETING.
- Profit making enterprises.
- Government institutions
- Nonprofit making organizations.
ELEMENTS/ENTITIES BEING MARKETED TODAY
- Goods-phones,shoes,soaps,detergents
- Services;hotel,hair dress
- Events-trade shows,world cup, valentine,
- Persons-rudisha, oliech.winfrey.
- Places-city or state.
- Organisations-airtel, safcom,bidco,equity.
- Ideas-this is mainly encountered by many social marketers i.e. don’t drive and drink.
- Experiences –e.g. a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro, lake turkana etc.
- Information-this is usually the knowledge created and disseminated by universities and colleges through teaching and publications mainly in media.
- Properties-mainly real estates as well as financial instruments.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing always have had a close relationship, so close that many people have confused the two being the same.
Marketing is a method of bringing customers to a business as well as making others aware of the business product and brand. Sales is selling the product the company offers. It can be achieved through phone, interaction as well as web page.
Marketing sells the idea of product and services to everyone whereas sales sells the actual product one on one through personal interaction.
Marketing generates interest but sales brings in money.
Marketing does everything it can to reach and persuade prospective buyers while sales does everything it can to close the sale and get assigned an agreement/contract.
Marketing responsibility is selling the idea while selling has a responsibility of selling the product and can be achieved through sales making.
Selling is only a part of firm marketing activities and refers to personal communication of information to persuade a prospective buyer to buy something.
Marketing refers to the process of planning, exchanging, the process, concept/idea, pricing, promotion and distribution of goods and services and ideas to satisfy companies or individuals. sales excludes all this.
Marketing has led to the emergence of marketing concepts(philosophies that aim at satisfying customer needs) while selling has led to the emergence of selling concepts(a philosophy that encourage organizations to undertake a large scale selling promotion effect.
Sales people usually sells to customers the products while the marketing meets the organization with customers. the major objectives of sales department is responsible for activities like promotion. marketing ignores all this.
- Need-this is a state of felt deprivation most of which is inborn and many can not do without eg need for food, shelter and clothing.
- Want –they are specific satisfaction for particular needs and are insatiable ie one can never fully satisfy them.
- Exchange-this is the act of obtaining a desired product from someone by offering something else in return.
- Product-this is anything that can be offered to someone to satisfy a need or want and can be a good/services(doctors, hair cut),tangible or intangible.
- Demand-This are human wants that are backed by the purchasing power of an individual.
- Customer value-this is the difference between the value the customer gains from owning and using a product and the cost of obtaining the product.
- Customer Satisfaction – this depends on the customers perceived performance in delivering value relative to the buyers expectation.
- Quality-customer satisfaction is closely linked to quality of products and services. many marketers have now adopted Total Quality Management programmes assigned to constantly improve the quality of their offers and marketing processes. TQM can narrowly be defined as freedom from defects.
- Exchange-this is the act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return.
- Transaction and relationships-this are created mainly through satisfaction of consumers needs and wants.
- Market-the concept of exchange and relationships led to the concept of a market. these buyers share a particular need or want that can be satisfied through exchange relationships.
