Marketing is a word that has a lot of very diverse meaning. It is a broad term that is commonly used by different companies and organizations to describe their specific business practice. Marketing therefore refers to the entire process that an organization undertakes in order to engage its client base, develop strong relationships with customers, create value for the company in terms of increased profits, or create opportunities for the company to branch out into new areas. In most cases marketing also refers to the strategic use of advertising media to generate sales. There are various channels through which one can engage in marketing one’s products or services.
There are some marketing concepts that are commonly used but they are not enough to define what marketing is all about. For an organization to properly understand what marketing is all about, it is important for it to understand how marketing works. One of the fundamental marketing concepts is social marketing. Social marketing is about using various marketing tools and mediums such as the Internet, advertising, community events, and marketing conferences to promote the product or service being offered by a company or organization.
Marketing myopia refers to a common marketing concept which is the believing that the product concept or the company concept should be the sole concern of marketers. While some marketers may feel that they are able to effectively market a product concept by themselves, this marketing myopia is a fallacy. A number of factors including a product concept, the competition, and the demographics make marketing an effective tool. If the marketing concept is not well thought out or if it is not well suited for the market, there is a high probability that the product concept will fail to meet its intended goals.
Marketing managers must also be cognizant of various other marketing concepts. The marketing techniques used to communicate with consumers may not be effective when it is combined with other marketing strategies. There is a need for the manager to realize that in order for there to be effective marketing, there needs to be a balance between advertising and non-advertising strategies. In addition, marketing managers must recognize that consumer behavior is very unique and requires specialized and unique marketing strategies in order for it to be successful.
Another marketing concept that is often misunderstood is the concept of selling to consumers. Selling to consumers is simply the act of providing consumers with the ability to acquire a product for a cost. While there are many benefits of selling a product to consumers, this concept can be misused if a company oversells its products. This concept can also lead to the under-valuation of the company and therefore lower the company’s stock price.
The failure of any of these marketing techniques can result in a company failing to meet its financial goals and this is why proper market research is essential. Market research provides the information needed about the real world consumer behavior so that a company can effectively sell its products to consumers. Without market research a company cannot effectively sell its products to the public. Market research is especially important for new companies as they do not have a history to fall back on and cannot afford to make a number of bad marketing decisions. A new marketer must conduct extensive market research and learn what works and what doesn’t when forming its marketing strategies.
