Topic 1 - The role of marketing in an organisation

Business Orientations, Philosophies and Concepts. 

1. The 'Production' Orientation
• this is the oldest business theory that guides sellers through the market.
• through this orientation, business believe that consumers will favour products that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, the management of and organisation would focus mainly upon the efficiency of production and distribution. 
• in this philosophy, the role of marketing is quite basic and passive. It simply focuses on reducing the costs and product availability.
2. The 'Product' Orientation
• as can be understood from the title itself, companies adopting this orientation would focus specifically on the product in order to improve its features, which would supposedly attract more people to buy it. 
• the term 'Marketing Myopia' means and refers to when a business focuses too much on the product and as a result, ends up losing sight of the customers and their needs. Consequently, a business that becomes too obsessed about its product/s may be in very high risk of losing the sight of its customers and competitors, which would lead to a reduction in sales and customer satisfaction. 
• in 1960, Theodore Levitt was the man who actually introduced the concept of 'Marketing Myopia' after publishing a famous article stressing on the points mentioned earlier. This article briefly suggested that the consumer will favour products that offer quality, performance and features over others, and that the organisation should therefore devote its energy and time to continuous product improvements.
3. The 'Sales' Orientation
• this particular orientation is most important and applicable for situations where supply is much higher than demand. 
• selling is what provides a company with profits, which is why it is one of the most essential elements in the business world. 
• however, just focusing on selling could possibly lead to what is known as aggressive selling, which is when a company pressures customers into buying. Consequently, such a practice will put off customers which will then lead them to opt for alternatives.
4. The 'Marketing' Orientation
• this business orientation is probably the most suggestible and  common one of all. This is mainly because the organisation adopting such an orientation would take the customers' perspective and operating accordingly. 
• here the company would create and cherish values that are important to the customer which will in turn lead to great business and profits.  
• discovering such values takes time and immense effort however. The R&D department would come into play again, where research is carried out and important data is collected in order to take effective decisions. Such data would aid a company in taking better production decisions, due to the fact that they would know what customers need, want, prefer and so on.
• therefore, these companies that adopt such an orientation must make sure that the things promised must be delivered to the customers, in the most efficient way possible. Failing to do so would lead to customer dissatisfaction and subsequently a negative reputation on the marketplace.
5. The 'Societal' Orientation
• companies adopting the societal orientation would take a lot of care that the process of production as well as the products produced are environmental-friendly, and that there is no harm whatsoever on the consumers using such products. 
• this concept holds that the organisation should determine the needs, wants and interests of the market holders. It should deliver superior value in a what that maintains and/or improves the consumers' and societies' well-being.

Topic 1 - Marketing Management

The Marketing Management

• Marketing Management can be defined as the analysis, planning, implementation and control of plans designed to create, build as well as maintain beneficial exchanges with target buyers for the purpose of achieving organisational objectives.
•  Now, let's briefly analyse these elements...
• Analysis: this is all the information gathered on the target customers. 
• Planning: this element focuses mainly on the future and entails what the company plans to achieve, and in what manner.
• Implementation: implementing basically refers to the company putting plans into action. 
• Control: the marketing department here would evaluate any results gathered from studies/research made.

  

  The Marketing Planning Cycle

  
  

Topic 1 - An Introduction to Marketing

Marketing, an overview...

• Marketing is the way a company or organisation promote products/services onto the market.
• Whenever marketing strategies and campaigns are being planned and subsequently implemented, it is very important that the customer is constantly kept in mind, due to the fact that the customer happens to be the most important element in the business world. A world-renowned saying by Kenneth B. Elliott has been looked up to throughout the years by several businesses and entrepreneurs:

•  “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

• Therefore, it is clear that the customer should be given immense importance and should be treated with great respect because without customers, there is no business. To know what customers need and want is also another essential knowing for businesses. As a result, such companies undergo what is known as research. This practice is normally taken care of by the Research & Development Department (R&D), where professionals in this field carefully study the market as well as customer buying behaviours, as to establish a better understanding and subsequently control of the market.