Marketing concept has undergone a great change over the period. The different stages of change are explained below.
1. Production Concept of Marketing
This is the oldest concept of marketing. It emphasizes that consumers will favour those products that are available and highly affordable and therefore management should focus on improving production and distribution activities. This holds good when
i. The demand for a product exceeds the supply.
ii. The product cost is high.
ii. The product cost is high.
To overcome the problem of cost, production should take place in large scale to meet the demand. At the same time, price should also be addressed so that by making available large quantity, buyer who wants to buy the product would be able to buy. But there are occasions when the product is not attractive, even at low price, the buyers may not buy the product.
2. Product Concept of Marketing
This concept believed that the consumers will favour those products that offer the best quality, performance and features and therefore the organization should devote its energy to making continuous product improvements. This concept implies that there is no effort required for marketing a product, as long as the product is good and its price is reasonable. This concept remained as an important guideline for the manufacturers for quite a long time. But when considering the reality, it could easily be proved that this concept is not true. A producer may feel that he should come up with a good quality product, while the consumers may look for better solution to a problem. FOR EXAMPLE, colleges may feel that the high school students want a liberal arts education, failing to note that the preference is for vocational education. Hospitals may feel that patients want fast cure but patients may be looking for permanent remedy. The consumers may not be aware of the product features and qualities unless a vigorous selling effort is made by the producers. Further, now a days every manufacture has a separate research and development section to facilitate continuous product improvement. For example, from a 7 Stage of ordinary washing soap, continuous research has brought us the detergent powder easy to use. But this concept of marketing would expect a well organized promotional drive to make the product a success.
3. Selling Concept of Marketing
In this concept the importance of sales efforts to be undertaken to make the consumers buy the products which otherwise will remain unsold. So every organization has to make substantial selling and promotional effort to push the sales of its product. Even the best product cannot have desired sales without the help of sales promotion and aggressive salesmanship. This concept points out that goods are not bought but they have to be sold through organized advertisement and sales promotion efforts. FOR EXAMPLE, goods like automobiles are not readily bought by the consumers and they have to be sold only through promotional effort. Hence, the producers have to develop effective promotional effort. Hence, the producers have to develop effective promotional programmes to sell the products. Even in the case of election, several political parties attempt to project their candidates by using various promotional efforts. While, there is nothing illogical about this approach, yes, producer might have to conceal the flaws in the product and hard sell the product. Hence, more often than not, the consumers regret their decision after purchasing the product. Even if they try to force the producers to compensate the loss, it might not be forthcoming.
4. Profit Concept of Marketing
According to profit concept of marketing, there is a necessity for the marketing function to generate profit for the organization. But it is the production activities which would determine the cost of manufacturing and so profit generation becomes the ultimate responsibility of the marketing function. For this purpose, the marketing personnel have to identify the right product and take it to the right people at the right time at right price through the right channel and with right promotion. This would indicate the extent to which the marketing function has to ensure profit realization for a firm. This in turn will force the production function to minimize its cost of production so that marketing function can try to optimize its activities by maximizing profit at minimum cost. On its part, the production department has to protect its own interest. So now a days, the production department would sell the product to marketing at a price befitting its cost of production and a market quantum of profit. In turn, the marketing would determine a price with which it would be able to generate profit and also meet its promotional expenses. Hence this concept of marketing underscores the need to minimize cost at every level, so that at every level every function can earn profit.
5. Modern Marketing Concept
The modern marketing concept revolves around customer. It focuses on the ultimate customer and undertakes to meet his requirements in full. For this the organization has to correctly understand the customer requirement and deliver the desired products more effectively and efficiently than the competitors.
Hence a major shift took place in emphasis from product to customer. This has led to the manufacturers accept the philosophy, manufacturer is following the old approach, [manufacturing what he can], then be would be out of business in no time. The modern concept is build in recognition of consumers‟ sovereignty and so it helps every organization to maximize customer satisfaction and profit. It is this realization of the need to study customer want that very detailed research efforts are made to study and analyze consumer behavior. Similarly marketing information system has become a significant method of receiving valuable inputs about consumers‟ wants and needs.
Based on this approach, every manufacturer has to redefine his production decision from design to delivery. A constant study of the change in consumer’s behavior has become a necessity to remain in business. The unique selling proposition is developed on the basis of customer’s reaction to various product features. Further, every manufacturer and marketing personnel tries to exceed customer expectations so as to win the customer from the competition. Customer complaints are given utmost respect and importance and the business consider the customer complaints as the best input for product improvement.
“A compiling customer is seen as the contributing customer.” Hence the modern marketing concept has changed the market for almost every product from seller‟s market‟ to „buyer‟s market. At the same time, it should be noted that the tall claim that every organization tries to meet the customer expectations in full, is proved to be true on paper than in practice.
6. Social Marketing Concept
This philosophy of marketing underlines the importance of marketing activities to support and ensure social well-being. Marketing should determine the needs, wants and interests of target markets and deliver the desired satisfaction effectively. Only through this marketing can keep the competitors at bay. This broadened role of marketing is prescribed for marketing as in modern days, a number of products and services hasten environmental pollution, scarcity and inflation.
For Example, excessive use of ground water resources to produce mineral water and earn money will result in faster depletion of water source. Similarly, use of harmful ingredients in product manufacturing/process, would cause irreparable damage to human beings. Further questionable business practices and unethical actions would bring about a severely damaged social fabric.
In these days, marketing concept emphasizes that every organization should consciously explore the scope for it to contribute to the social-well being. When firms have started adopting this approach, not only they could substantially increase their sales, the society also benefited from this. Social marking concept therefore aims at enabling consumers to get maximum satisfaction and contribute to their quality of life, designing product with consumer’s interest as an input and ensuring all marketing efforts to have consumer as the focal point.
