The Marketing Concept

The Marketing Concept Abstract The marketing concept remains a fundamental parameter of marketing that makes organizations meet the needs and wants of their customers thereby surviving and flourishing in the dynamic market. Organizations should treat customers as Kings that is giving them the first priority in all their activities. In laying marketing strategies, organizations ought to consider the tastes and preferences of their customers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Marketing Concept specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This will enable them to produce services and goods that fit into the customers’ bracket of needs and wants. If this process continues, customers’ satisfaction will be assured leading to attraction and maintenance of customers. Since most firms target profit maximization as their main objective, they will also meet the set objectives in the end thus gaining competitive advantage over their competitors i n the marketing environment. This essay will analyse the relationships that exist between satisfaction of customers’ needs and the organizational needs. It will analyse the marketing concept form a historical perspective and analyse the elements that an organization can do to satisfy its customers. In marketing, customers are the most vital aspect since the main objective is to satisfy their needs. The entire organization should understand and uphold the marketing concept as it is not a single domain of the marketing department (Bell, 2010, p. 27). Success in businesses requires an inclusive approach from all the departments. Every manager and employee should put the customer’s needs and satisfaction in the frontline. The marketing concept and philosophy is involved in product, selling and marketing. Product philosophy enables the organization to know what it can produce and what it cannot produce. It can put emphasis on high quality products with low cost of productio n. This philosophy does not lead to poor sales; instead, it creates more market for products made than before. During the industrial revolution, the production was extremely low as goods were made using hands, but the goods were still marketed. Customer’s satisfaction was extremely low because of low and slow production that led to low market. Currently, there is mass production, but it has not covered all customers’ satisfaction.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, it has created economies of scale thereby leading to low cost of production and low price of goods (Hooley et al., 1995, p. 10). This implies that the production philosophy can work in a newly established industry. According to Henry Ford, different colour of products can increase the cost of production, which leads to more market. He argued that to get more customers, one should lowe r prices for goods (Cochran, 2003, p. 15). During the Industrial revolution, there was an increase in the volume of products; this prompted the need for a marketing department that will focus on selling of the goods. Increase in supply and production brought to an end the surplus production leading to advertising and personal selling to reduce inventories and increase sales. Additionally, it enables the organization to focus on the production work, and sell whatever property they produce. Nevertheless, distributing goods according to the consumer’s preference is easier. Further, a good sales department cannot meet the needs of all customers since the customers have many choices. It struggles to make the organization understand the customers before designing and making products. When needs and wants of customers are included in the production work, the organization will increase sales since they will meet the customer’s preference thereby maximizing its profit. The mana gement in organizations should be skilful in order to understand their customers, as this is the key to quality service provision (Cochran, 2003, p. 17). In environmental scanning and forecasting, firms should be able to foresee the needs of their customers. This approach will help organizations meet and exceed the expectations of their customers. In addition, organizations that understand the needs of their customers will be able to alter their services and goods in line with the customers’ change in tastes and preferences in future.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Marketing Concept specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They can do this without any challenge of reorganization or loss since they keep continuous contact with their customers. Markedly, continuous contact with customers requires an attentive management that can listen to complains that customers raise and reward perennial ones; this increases the ir loyalty to the business. Major business organizational units aim at surviving in the market. How a firm manages its working capital determines its financial health or status. Strategic working capital policies should be available to ensure that the firm will make profit even during a financial crisis. This management helps to generate new capital to settle future debts. A good management of working capital can also make it possible for firms to engage in risky ventures, which have huge returns (McClelland, 1995, p. 97). Therefore, it encourages investment options that can fully satisfy the needs of the customers. Secondly, organizations target growth and development of their internal services in terms of institutional and professional competency, innovations in products and services and customer growth. Firms also aim at fostering strong relationships among its external networks. Lastly, another organizational need is serving and uplifting all its stakeholders; for instance, an o rganization can engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to make changes in the world. It can also encourage its employees to work towards achieving their life objectives through continuous training on life skills. Customers will also like an organization that educates them on the content of various products and how to use them. For organizations to understand their customers, they should try to be in the customers’ shoes, use various organizational data, or even ask the customers on what they think on productivity and service provision. Using the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) can assist firms to understand the needs of their customers. This data shows how customers take orders and how quick the company delivers these orders. CRM systems contain information on consumer behaviours and preferences that can help an organization to identify various needs of its customers’ thereby increasing profitability (Mckitterick, 2000, p. 21). If an organization utilizes this data carefully, it can improve in customer satisfaction and retention.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A customer survey can also be helpful to an organization that is interested in meeting the needs and wants of its customers. In engaging customers in a satisfaction survey, they feel more valued than in another firm that does not inquire on their views and contributions. Notably, a firm can gain meaningful insights if it goes ahead to inculcate the views of customers when making improvements or changes in their services. Such a scenario will increase customers’ loyalty, which makes it easier for the firm to understand the needs of these customers hence tailor its products towards satisfying these needs. Evidently, such a marketing strategy will alter the performance of a firm since the customers will be able to inform the organization of the behaviours that they feel should be altered. For instance, customers can inform the organization of bad behaviours among its staff only if they are close to the management. If the management can proactively consult its customers, it will be able to correct its wrong doings that could have caused dissatisfaction to customers. Moreover, an organization can opt to be in its customer’s shoes. In this manner, the management will study the points at which the customers access the enterprise. Some of these points include deliveries, phone calls, and correspondence; the management should scrutinize if there is immediate responses to phone calls and the friendliness of its receptionists. The slowness in handling customers’ complains coupled with the arrogance of the receptionist can be the reason behind customers’ dissatisfaction. To avoid losing customers, the management should try to put the interest of its customers at the forefront by addressing their complaints promptly (Mckitterick, 2000, p. 23). Further, the firm should deliver on it promises and even surpass the customers’ targets. All the departments in an organization should focus on surpassing the expectations of the customers. Understa nding the customers remains a secret that businesses can use in identifying the needs and wants of its customers thereby enhancing satisfaction among the customers. Markedly, a firm will realize and surpass its organizational goals of continuous expansion and growth in the market with continuous loyalty of customers. In meeting the customers’ needs, businesses should design products and services that are affordable, attractive, work well and always available. They also engage in product promotion to alert consumers on the existence of their products hence encouraging them to purchase the products. In the current market, customers tend to adopt the new technological systems such as online shopping. An organization should upgrade its information management system in order to be in line with the requirements of the customers. First, organizations with updated Information Management (IM) have all their data well managed in the systems. This information management fosters growth, as it reduces the cost of operation (Bhatt, 2010). Organizations can develop websites that can promote communication. For example, pizza companies have designed a website where their customers can order their own pizzas from the stores. Since organizations handle large volumes of data, there is the need to employ the Information Technology in ensuring proper data storage. Organizations handle clients’ data, employees’ data, managerial data, suppliers, and procurements data amongst others. There is the need to align these pieces of information for easy access by the prospective owners and the organization. This is where the Information management is applicable. Research has revealed that businesses that have a well-organized and managed data improve customer satisfaction minimize cost on IT thus increase revenue and realize improvement on operational efficiency. Further, a properly managed IM eliminates decisions based on assumptions as the information can be retrieved within the shortest time possible; it enables organizations understands their customers’ behaviours and preferences. This enables organizations to serve their clients well and even retain most of them (Bhatt, 2010). IM also increases efficiency as customer care agents can access clients’ data at an instant. Business outlets are inculcating technological modifications into their systems in order to increase their efficiency and reduce the cost of operation. Organizations should use specifications or approaches that they can undertake. Remarkably, the success of Information Management depends on their alignment and integration with the Human Resource (HR) and organization’s objectives. Clearly, an organization that tends to meet the meet the needs of its customers will actually meet its strategic goals and objectives. The customer service department in an organization can assist in attracting, serving, and retaining customers by applying proper knowledge managemen t techniques. Knowledge Management (KM) can assist a firm to predict the future behaviour of its customers in terms of their tastes and preferences. Therefore, KM and environmental forecasting can help a firm to save on the cost of production; therefore, it can direct these funds in expanding its services to occupy large market area (Pride Ferrell, 2002, p. 45). Such a firm will avoid wastage on producing goods or services that will not receive positive market response. Understanding the needs of customers is the job of all departments in an organization. From the above analysis, businesses should put more resources on researches that aim at learning the needs of their customers. Customers remain the epicentre of all businesses since without them, no transaction will occur. Organizations should pay immense attention to the behaviour and complaints of their customers to ensure continuity. An organization that is updated on technology, provides a variety of products, and interacts fr eely with its customers will satisfy the needs of its customers. This act will increase profitability of the organization. The firm will use the profit to expand its services and invest in other risky, but profitable ventures. Therefore, organizations that align their strategic objectives towards customers’ satisfaction will achieve their missions. References Bell, M. L. (2010). Marketing; Concepts and Strategy. University of Minnesota: Houghton Mifflin. Bhatt, Y. (2010, March 1). Information Management: A Key for Creating Business Value. The Data Administration Newsletter – TDAN.com. Retrieved from http://tdan.com/information-management-a-key-for-creating-business-value/12829 Cochran, C. (2003). Customer satisfaction: tools, techniques, and formulas for success. Chico, Calif.: Paton Press. Hooley, G. J., Lynch, J. E., Shepherd, J. (1995). The Marketing Concept: Putting the Theory into Practice. European Journal of Marketing, 24(9), 7-24. Web. McClelland, S. B. (1995) . Organizational Needs Assessments: Design, Facilitating and Analysis. Atlanta: Greenwood Publishing Group. Mckitterick, J. (2000). What is the Marketing Management Concept?. Chicago: Houghton Mifflin. Pride, W., Ferrell, O. C. (2002). Marketing: Concept and Strategies. Abingdon: Deep Deep Publications.