CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING

MEANING OF MARKETING
Marketing refers to the process of ascertaining consumer needs, converting them into products
and services, and then moving the product or service to the final consumer segment with
emphasis on profitability and customer satisfaction, ensuring the optimum use of the resources
available to the organization.
As per Philip Kotler, the marketing guru, marketing is a social and managerial process by which
individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging
products and value with others.
MEANING OF MARKET : Market originates from Latin word ‘MARCUTUS’ which means a place
where buyer and sellers meet for business. Earlier in our country buyer and seller gathered at a
specific place called ‘haats’or ‘melas’. But with passage of time buyers and sellers need not to
meet face to face for transaction, they can meet virtually through e-commerce platforms.
MASLOW’S NEED HIERARCHY THEORY OF MOTIVATION
(i)Physiological Needs: These needs are most basic in the hierarchy and correspond to primary
needs. Hunger, thirst, shelter, sleep are some examples of these needs
(ii) Safety/Security Needs: These needs provide security and protection from physical and
emotional harm. Examples: job security, stability of income, Pension plans etc.
(iii) Affiliation/Belonging Needs: These needs refer to affection, sense of belongingness,
acceptance and friendship.
(iv) Esteem Needs: These include factors such as self-respect, autonomy status, recognition and
attention.
(v) Self Actualisation Needs: It is the highest level of need in the hierarchy. It refers to the
drive to become what one is capable of becoming. These needs include growth, self fulfilment
and achievement of goals
FEATURES OF MARKETING
1. Needs and Wants: A marketer’s job in an organisation is to identify needs of the target
customers and develop products and services that satisfy such needs. The process of marketing
helps individuals and groups in obtaining what they need and want. Thus, the primary reason or
motivation for people to engage in the process of marketing is to satisfy some of their needs or
wants.
2. Creating a Market Offering: Market offering refers to a complete offer for a product or
service, having given features like size, quality, taste, etc; at a certain price; available at a given
outlet or location and so on. A good ‘market offer’ is the one which is developed after analysing
the needs and preferences of the potential buyers.
4. Exchange Mechanism: The process of marketing involves exchange of products and services
for money or something considered valuable by the people. Exchange refers to the process
through which two or more parties come together to obtain the desired product or service
from someone. .
5. Customer Value: The buyers, however, make buying decisions on their perceptions of the
value of the product or service in satisfying their need, in relation to its cost. A product will be
purchased only if it is perceived to be giving greatest benefit or value for the money.
Customers are smart and they evaluate between benefits they are acquiring and price they are
paying for those benefits. Customer value is difference between the values benefits the
customer gains from owning a product and cost of obtaining the product. Customer value can
be shown as an equation as below:
Customer Value = Total Customer Benefits – Total Customer Costs

1|Page
6. Customer Satisfaction : A Customer is said to be satisfied if their expectations match with the
actual performance of the product.
Customer satisfaction differs from one person to another; it’s an experience which is different
for different individuals. Satisfaction can only be measured by comparing pre-purchase
expectation and post-purchase experience. The equation used to determine the level of a
customer’s satisfaction is: Customer Satisfaction=Experience – Expectation
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING
Importance of Marketing to the Marketers
1. Marketing Promotes Product Awareness to the Public
The primary task of marketing is to get the product or service recognized by the market. It
is important that public awareness of product and company information is spread to the
buying public, this is possible if heavy advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct
marketing is done for creating awareness.

2. Marketing Helps In Enhancing Product Sales

Apart from public awareness about a company’s products and services, marketing helps
boost sales and revenue growth. Once the public learns your product through TV
advertisements, radio commercials, newspaper ads, online ads etc, it will generate sales.
More the people know a production a service; more interested they would be in buying the
products.
3. Marketing Builds Company Reputation
Marketers continuously aim to create an image of the company in general public eyes.
They tend to create brand name recognition. This is done so that consumers can easily
associate the brand name with the images, logo, or caption that they hear and see in the
advertisements. With an established name in the industry, a business continues to grow
and expand.

IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING TO CUSTOMERS

1. Marketing creates Utilities:
Marketing creates different types of utilities, form utility – from a plumber to furniture,
place utility- product moving from the factory to the customer, time utility- product
available when needed, information utility- ingredients of the product and even how to
use the product, and possession utility- transfer of ownership from retailer to
customer.
2. Large number of choices available:
Marketers create needs and wants and try to satisfy that through offering variety of
product choices. If one wants to buy soap, there are n numbers of brands available. For
example Lux, Pears, Rexona, Dove are range of soaps offered by HUL.
3. More platforms available:
With the advent of technology, the marketers are offering customers both offline and
online platforms to purchase. Now marketers are serving more number of customers
through different ways, reminders of sales comes through sms, e-mail, facebook,
whatsapp.
IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING TO THE SOCIETY
1. Source of Employment:
Marketing offers a great range of wide and exciting career opportunities. Marketing
offers employment in the field of personal selling, packaging, and advertising,
marketing research, consultancy, distribution and channel sales.
2. Welfare of Customers and Stakeholders:
Though profit maximisation is main motive of every business but many marketers have taken
up corporate social responsibility in order to give back to society. Different forms For example,

2|Page
HUL’s – Behaviour Change Program where washing hands with soap before a mother touches
her baby is proven to prevent many of infant deaths in villages. This campaign is to help teach
mothers this lifesaving habit and ‘Help A Child’
Scope of Marketing
The scope of marketing are explained as under:
Goods: A tangible item which can be an article, commodity, material, merchandise, supply,
wares produced from agricultural, construction, manufacturing or mining activities.
Services: Products that have intangible properties such as banking, consultancy, education,
insurance, accounting, expertise, medical treatment or transportation.
Experience: Marketers can create stage and market experiences to the customers. For example
Water Park, and theme parks provide experience marketing. Another different real life
experience is been enjoyed by customers at modern retail outlets. Shopping in a mall where the
delightful experience comprises of not only shopping but also, spending time with family and
friends, eating out and enjoying the complete day. s
People :Marketing can help people to market themselves. Politicians are the most suitable and
common example of people marketing. Politicians market themselves to the customers (voters)
by promising them certain bundle of benefits. Cricketers, film stars, authors, painters, musicians
and sportsperson market themselves.
Places :Cities, state and nation can be marketed to the consumers. Place marketers include real
estate developers, commercial banks, businesses etc. One can’t forget the incredible India
campaign by Indian government to market India as tourist spot. In India, Bangalore is known as
the silicon valley of India. Kerala is known as God’s own country. Madhya Pradesh is known as
“Heart of incredible India”.
Organizations: Organizations market themselves to create and boost their image in customers
mind. They try to create a unique and favourable image in the eyes of customers that can give
organizations an edge over others in the market place. Philips promises its customers products
which are technologically advance and hassle free.
Property: Properties, whether tangible like real estate or intangibles like stocks can be
marketed to the customers. Properties are bought and sold and this exchange process seeks
the role of marketing. Real estate developers (DLF, Unitech, and Supertech) develop property
and seek buyers for the same.
Events :Marketers promote different events from time to time their customers. These events
can be for individuals or organizations. Sports events like Commonwealth games, Cricket world
cup series, Musical Concert, Awards, and Fashion shows, etc are events.
Information :Information is basically produced and marketed and distributed by universities,
schools, colleges, newspapers, magazines, books etc to the customers at a price. The customers
here might be parents, students and communities.
Ideas: Every marketer offers some idea. Some offer it for money others do it for society in
general. Marketers make profit from society and they shall also give back to the society. Social
marketing comprises of creating awareness on few ideas like Family Planning, AIDS awareness,
discouraging-smoking, child labour, domestic violence, wearing of helmet while driving, blood
and eye donation etc.
Marketing Management Philosophies
Production Concept : Production concept lays emphasis on affordability and availability of
products. Affordability is possible by reducing cost of production by producing large quantities
and achieving mass production. Availability is possible by mass distribution by making the

3|Page
product widely available. This philosophy states that any amount of goods produced will sell if it
is available and affordable to customers. The Mantra for this concept is “Low cost and mass
production”.
Product Concept: It emphasises on innovation to produce better quality products. It believes in
the ideology that a “good product will sell itself” as rightly proven by Apple and Google brands.
Both of these companies have strived hard on their products and deliver customers rich
feature, innovative and diverse application products that people just love these brands. Product
improvement became the key to profit maximisation for firms in product concept.
Selling Concept : The concept is based on the belief that customers, be individual or
organizations will not buy enough of the organization’s products unless they are persuaded to
do so. So organizations should undertake selling and promotion of their products for success.
Thus making good products was not enough rather focus changed to pushing the sales of
products through aggressive selling. The company does not consider the needs and wants
rather thinks that anything and everything can be sold.
Marketing Concept : Marketing starts before the product; service or solution is ready and
continues even after the sale has been made. In marketing company makes honest efforts
towards retaining the customers and also attracting new ones. Customer satisfaction is the
strongest pillar of marketing where company assures that customers are satisfied after buying a
product or service. This is a customer centric approach rather than product centric one.
Societal Marketing Concept : The societal marketing concept believes in giving back to the
society as it believes that the company is profiting because of society and hence it should also
take measures to make sure the society also benefits from the company. The concept
advocates to deliver the customer satisfaction in a way that preserves or enhances the
customer’s and the society’s well-being.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING AND SELLING
Point of Difference Marketing Concept Selling Concept
1. Definition
Marketing is the process of creating value for customer and delivering goods and services
for earning profit.
Selling is the process of encoring customers for increasing sales.
2. Objective
The objective of Marketing concept is to satisfy customer through goods and services.
The objective of selling concept is to increase sales of goods and services.
3. Scope
The scope of marketing concept is wider.
The scope of selling concept is narrow.
4. Emphasis
Marketing concept emphasis on customer needs.
Selling concept emphasis on products or services.
5. Profit
Marketing concept earns profit through customer satisfaction .
Selling concept earns profit through attractive sales and promotion.
6. Start
Marketing concept starts with actual and potential customers .
Selling concept starts with existing product.

4|Page