Page 10 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Unit 1: Marketing: Scope and Concepts

“Marketing is a total system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote, and distribute Notes
want-satisfying products to target markets to achieve organisational objectives”.
(William J. Stanton, Michael J. Etzel, and Bruce J. Walker, Fundamentals of Marketing,
McGraw-Hill, 1994.)
“It (marketing) is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from
the customer's point of view”.
(Peter F. Drucker, Practice of Management (1954).
The essence of all these definitions of marketing is satisfying customer needs and wants.
Apparently, this core objective sounds simple, but it is not. Research shows that in many cases
customers either have inhibitions about revealing their real needs or wants by intent or may not
really know themselves. It is believed that the subconscious is the real storehouse of
deep-rooted motives. To the extent possible, marketers undertake consumer research and try to
learn about the target customers' needs and wants, and design appropriate marketing
programmes to satisfy target customers.

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Caution Keeping in view the definitions of marketing, some important aspects of modern
marketing can be distinguished:
1. Marketing is a societal process.

2. Marketing deals with customer needs, wants, products, pricing, distribution, and
promotion.
3. Marketing focuses on delivering value and satisfaction to customers through products,
services, ideas, etc.
4. Marketing facilitates satisfying exchange relationships.
5. Marketing takes place in a dynamic environment.

6. Marketing is used in both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations.
7. Marketing is extremely important to businesses and the economy of a
country.

1.1.1 Concept of Exchange

The concept of exchange is the essence and central to marketing thinking. Unless there is
actual or potential exchange, there is no marketing. People can acquire what they need or
want by pursuing socially acceptable behaviours or the behaviours not approved by the
society. Two socially acceptable approaches of acquiring things include self-producing or
exchanging what a person needs or wants. The third method, begging is viewed in some
societies as a somewhat less than dignified way of acquiring things. The fourth approach may
include behaviours such as shoplifting, burglary, or using potentially threatening force, etc.,
to acquire things, and these means are totally unacceptable by all civilised societies and
punishable by law. The highly regarded way to acquire what a person needs or wants is the
concept of exchange in marketing context. Both parties in an exchange offer something of
value, and freely acceptable to each other. It is understandable that parties involved in an
exchange must first agree to terms and conditions laid-down by each party so that actual
exchange takes place.

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