What is marketing? In the past, you have probably heard this word more than a few times. You may get the gist of it but here, let us take a closer look at marketing and what the core concepts of this essential business aspect are. Through good and bad economic times, marketing has an essential purpose to any kind of business.
Marketing can be defined in many different ways by different persons. But, the core is still the same. It is a process where individuals and groups determine and satisfy their needs by producing, offering and exchanging products or services that are valuable to each other. The following core concepts of the marketing process will give you a better understanding of marketing.
Needs, Wants, Demands
The needs, wants and demands are the most basic of all fundamental concepts of marketing, rooted from the needs, wants and demands of every human being. How do these three things play into the marketing process, here’s how:
Needs – To make successful marketing actions, you need to first identify unfulfilled needs. This is because it is the marketers’ job to try to satisfy these needs. Needs are the most basic human deprivation that must be satisfied or fulfilled. These usually include the food, warmth, shelter, safety, etc.
Wants – This is similar to needs but is often shaped by a person’s personality and culture. For instance, while you need food, you want a particular kind of food. In marketing, you can translate wants as ‘needs plus your ability to pay’, giving you options for your wants.
Demands – When there is a need and a want for specific products, a customer’s ability and willingness to buy that particular product refers to demands. Of course, not all wants translate to demands but only those supported with ability and motivation to pay and fulfill the wants.
Market Offer
The market offer is the product or service that a marketer or an organization offers to satisfy the needs of consumers. The marketer offers a product or service that fulfills the customer’s requirements in terms of quality, quantity, price and that provides real value to their money at a reasonable price.
Satisfaction and Value
Value is a product or service’s capacity to derive satisfaction. The level of satisfaction that a product or service invokes from the customer gives value to the product and service. You cannot measure satisfaction, as it is a state of mind. However, the cost and quality of the product are things that affect it.
Marketing Exchange and Relationships
Exchange is a basic concept in marketing. This is an activity that gives value provided to the other party. Without money, the concept of exchange is not possible as every product, service or idea given to customers is in exchange of money.
In business, you recognize that the customer is at the center. In order to grow your business, you need to build a good relationship with your customer. To create a good relationship with your customer, you need to always make them happy with the products and services you offer.
Market
Of course, besides these core concepts, the market is also a vital concept in the marketing process. The place where you and your customer connect together, the market serves as the present and the future of marketing.
Is your business a Need, Want or Demand? Tell me more about it in the comments.
