Understanding Marketing: Key Concepts and Strategies

Marketing: The Activity, Set of Institutions, and Processes for Creating, Communicating, Delivering, and Exchanging Offerings That Have Value for Customers

Marketing is the process of creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers and clients. In order for marketing to occur, there are several key factors:

• Two or more parties with unsatisfied needs
• Desire and ability to satisfy these needs
• A way for the parties to communicate
• Something to exchange

Environmental Factors

• Social (cultural changes)
• Economic (Macroeconomics)
• Technological (changing technology)
• Competitive (Alternative forms)
• Regulatory (laws regulate competition)

4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place

The 4Ps are essential elements of the marketing mix:

• Product: A good, service, or idea to satisfy customer needs
• Price: The exchange value for the product
• Promotion: A means of communication between the seller and buyer
• Place: Getting the product to the consumer

The marketing mix elements are called controllable factors because they are under the control of the marketing department in an organization.

Market, Target Market, and Market Segments

A market consists of people who have both the desire and ability to buy a specific offering. A target market refers to one or more specific groups of potential consumers toward which an organization directs its marketing plan. Market segments are relatively homogeneous groups of prospective buyers that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action.

Customer Value Proposition

A customer value proposition is a group of benefits that an organization promises its customers in order to satisfy their needs.