What is Marketing ?

Evolution of Marketing
Concept?
What is Marketing?
There are hundreds of ways to define Marketing. But in simple, it is
continuous process of understanding customer requirement and satisfies
those requirements in most effective way and get in a long term relationship
with the customer.
Marketing revolves around segmenting the market, targeting a profitable
segments and position offering in a unique way to compete over the others.
Kotlers social definition:
Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what
they need and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging
products and services of value with others.

Evolution of Marketing Concept

Old concept of marketing was to make goods available so that people who
had needs can buy. But as human needs changes and many players offering
same goods, the concept changes from making available to satisfying needs.
The core concept of marketing exchange process have stated since human
civilization and it has transforms through many phases into modern
marketing management today.
Exchange oriented Stages: After the stages of nomads people started to
settle on the banks of rivers and engaged in agriculture and other economic
activities. Then the problem of deficit and surplus in production came into
existence. In order to have smooth exchanges Barter System came into
existence. This is the starting point of marketing activities.
Production oriented Stages (1760-1830): This stage came with the
dawn of industrial revolution which started during 1760. The concept behind
this stage was if you can offer products with reasonable price and quality,
nothing can prevent you from selling and making profits. Here producer gave
more emphasis on their production not on the customer requirements.

Sales oriented Stage: Technological development, improving living

standard, development in communication and transportation lead people to
believe that they can demand more quality goods from the producers than
they were offering. Producers started realizing consumers will normally not
buy enough unless approached with a substantial selling and promotional
efforts. Under this concept the greater emphasis was on increasing the sales
than on customer satisfaction
Marketing oriented Stages: As the consumer demand and producers
supply came into equal positions, the producers were forced to rethink over
the selling concept and thus it leads to introduction of marketing concepts.
Moreover, intense competition in the market made producers realize that
products could not be sold without having a strong understanding of
consumer needs and preferences.
Consumer oriented Stage: This stage have totally opposite view than the
other stages above. Here producers started producing products keeping in
mind the requirement of the customer. Production process are adjusted and
re-adjusted in order keep align with ever changing needs of customers.
Competition becomes a keen factor here.
Management oriented Stages: This is the present stage of the evolution
of marketing concept. Consumer marketing became an accepted marketing
philosophy. Today marketing is the most crucial in business planning and
decision-making.

What is a market-driven strategy?

Market driven strategy is considerably the most popular organisational approach in
running the business nowadays, as the strategy allows the company to obtain a
better understanding of the market, as well as their customers; thus, it allows

company to achieve competitive advantage, and develop a long-term relationship

with the customers.

The fundamental logic of this strategy is that the market and the customers that
form the market should be the starting point in business strategy formulation; which
therefore an understanding of the market and the customers that form the market is
essential (Cravens & Piercy, 2006).

According to Cravens & Piercy (2006), the characteristics of market driven

strategies include:

1.

Becoming market oriented

2.

Determining distinctive capabilities

3.

Finding a match between customer value and organisational capabilities

4.

Obtaining superior performance by providing superior customer value

Although it is a highly promising strategy, yet it is argued that a long-term

commitment is crucial in order to develop these strategies.

1.

Becoming Market Oriented

A market orientation is a business perspective that placed the customer as the

center of a companys total operations (Cravens & Piercy, 2006). This concepts is
basically holds the same idea as the marketing concept that is being discussed
before in what is marketing. Moreover, Slater & Narver, (1994) argues that a
business is market-oriented when its culture is systematically and entirely
committed to the continuous creation of superior customer value.

However, for a business to achieve market orientation, it involves the use of

superior organisational skills in understanding and satisfying customers (Day,
1990).
A market-oriented organization always gathers information about its customers,
competitors, and the markets; analyze it from a total business perspective, decides
how to deliver superior customer value, and finally takes actions to provide value to
customers (Slater & Narver, 1994).
Moreover, Cravens & Piercy, (2006) suggest the requirements for the organisations
to become market-oriented:

Customer focus (understand the customer needs, wants, and responses

towards the products delivered)

Competitor intelligence (Understand the competitor just like the customer)

Cross-functional cooperation and involvement (abilities to get all business

functions to work together in providing superior customer value)

2.

Distinctive Capabilities

Identifying an organisations distinctive capabilities is a crucial part of market-driven

strategy. Capabilities can be defined as complex bundles of skills and accumulated
knowledge, exercised through organizational processes, that enable firms to
coordinate activities and make use of their assets (Day, 1994).
According to Cravens & Piercy, (2006), The Major components of distinctive
capabilities are:

Organisational Processes

Skills and Accumulated Knowledge

Coordination of Activities

Assets

For example: Zaras new-product development process, which illustrates the

retailers distinctive capabilities, where the new-product development applies the
skills of their design team and benefits from the teams accumulated knowledge;

the coordination of activities across business functions during new-product

development is facilitated by information and technology (the product designs take
into account the manufacturing requirements as well as offering high fashion
products). The asset is the strong brand image possessed by Zara which helps the
launching of the new product.
(CNN, 2001)

3.

Creating Value for Customers

Customer Value is the outcome of a process that begins with a business strategy
anchored in a deep understanding of customer needs (Troy, 1996). The creation of
customer value is an important challenge for the managers, since it is an ongoing
competitive challenge in maintaining successful market-driven strategies (Cravens
& Piercy, 2006). Being able to overcome these challenge, the organisation is
believed to be able to successfully deliver the customer value; hence fulfilled their
goals.
Superior customer value occurs when the buyer has a very positive use experience
compared to his/her expectations as well as the value offerings of competitors
(Cravens & Piercy, 2006).
Furthermore, Cravens & Piercy (2006) also stated that the values could be product
differentiation, lower prices than competing brands, or a combination of lower cost
and differentiation.
Through the deep understanding of this concept, ability to implement and manage
all the elements, as well as the constant management and updates of the strategy,
it is believed that the organisation will able to achieve it goals.