Core Elements of Marketing
A core set of elements creates a foundation for marketing management. The following are core concepts of marketing that help the marketer to focus on different ways to reach the customers.
1) Needs, Wants & Demand.
The marketer must try to understand the target market’s needs, wants& demands. Needs are the basic human requirements. The needs become wants when they are directed towards specific objects that might satisfy the need. Demand is wanted for a specific product which is backed by ability & willingness but it is mostly criticized that marketers create need & influence customers to buy the product but needs are been pre-exit & by understanding the needs of the customer the need of customers the marketer produces the product.
2)Target market positioning & segmentation
A marketer can rarely satisfy everyone in a market. Not everyone like the same thing. Therefore marketers start by dividing up the market into segments they identify & profile distinct groups of buyers who might prefer or require varying product & service mixes by marketers can rarely satisfy everyone in a market.
3) Offering & brands
Companies address needs by putting forth a value proposition a set of benefits they offer to customers to satisfy their needs. The intangible value proposition is made physically by an offering which can be a combination of products .services, information & experiences brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name carries many associates in the minds of people & these build up the brand image & all companies strive to build a brand strongly favorable & unique brand image.
4) Value & Satisfaction
The offering will be successful if it delivers value & satisfaction to the target buyer. Value can be seen as primarily a combination of quality service & price called a value trail Satisfaction reflects a person’s comparative judgment resulting from a product’s perceived performance in relation to his or her expectations.
5) Marketing Channels
To reach a target market the marketer uses different kinds of marketing including newspapers, magazines, radio, emails telephonic counseling, posters, and billboards the marketer uses a distribution channel to carry out a transaction with potential buyers including warehouses, transportation, and banks. Marketers clearly face a design problem in choosing the best mix of communication, distribution & service channel for their offering.
6) Supply Chain
Whereas marketing channels connect the marketer to the target buyers the supply chain describes a longer channel stretching from raw materials to components to final products that are carried to final buyers. The supply chain represents a value delivery system. Each Company captures only a certain percent of the total value generated by the supply chain. When a company acquires competitors or moves upstream or downstream it aims is to capture a higher percentage of supply chain value.
7) Competition
It includes all the actual & potential rival offerings & substitutes that a buyer might consider.
8) Marketing Planning
The marketing planning process consists of analyzing marketing opportunities selecting a target market, designing market strategies, developing market programs & managing marketing efforts.
