Preview

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him or her and sells itself." (Drucker) Produce arguments for and against this statement.

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
918 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him or her and sells itself." (Drucker) Produce arguments for and against this statement.
In 1973, Peter Drucker stated "The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him or her and sells itself." Considering that marketing is an exchange process between two parties which results in both customer and organizational satisfaction (Kolter & Keller 2006). It seems logical that, if a business is able to produce a product that is able to sell itself (i.e. does not require the assistance of a sales person) then marketing would be accomplished. That is, the customer acquires the product they are looking for, and the business gains its profits. However, Drucker further complicates the situation by saying this is achieved through "knowing and understand the customer well." This suggests that knowing and understanding customers needs is the only factor that matters.

Modern day marketers embrace the concept of finding the right product for their customers (Kolter & Keller 2006). Thus by identifying and pleasing customer needs this will lead to satisfaction of current customers and the attraction of new customers (Wangenheim & Bayón 2007). For example, when Sony invented its Play Station, Gillette its Mach III razor, and Nintendo its Wii all three companies designed a product that customers desired so much they were inundated with orders before the products reached retailers (Kolter & Keller 2006).

Furthermore, by dividing consumers into groups of people that share the same needs, businesses are able to concentrate their efforts contributing to marketing success (Kennedy 2000). In 2003 Starbucks and Pepsi found and exploited the gap in the market for ready-to-drink coffee products. This proved a successful venture for the businesses and they are now market leader in the industry. However, it was not as simple as identifying customers needs. Starbucks and Pepsi produced marketing campaigns that would enhance people 's awareness of the ready-to-drink coffee and waited for the demand to catch up to the market



References: est RJ (2005) "Market-Based Management. Strategies for Growing Customer Value and Profitability", 4th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, New JerseyHo SK & Choi ASF (2007) "Achieving marketing success through Sun Tzu 's Art of Warfare" Marketing and Intelligence Planning, vol.15, no.1, pp38-47Kennedy R, Ehrenberg A & Long S (2000) "Competitive Brands User Profile Hardly differ", MRS Conference, Brighton, March 17Kohli AK & Jaworski BJ (1990) "Market orientation: the construct, researchpropositions, and managerial implications", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, pp1-18Kottler PE & Keller KL (2006) Marketing Management: Chapter 1, 12th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Levitt T (1980) "Marketing success through differentiation of anything", Harvard Business Review, January- February, pp.83-91. Pauwels K (2004) "How Dynamic Consumer Response, Competitor Response, Company Support, and Company Inertia Shape Long-Term Marketing Effectiveness", Marketing Science, Vol. 23 Issue 4, pp596-610Pepsi & Starbucks Case Study: Building & Defending a Strong Position in Ready-to-Drink Coffee (2005) "Pepsi and Starbucks case study" pp1-13Wangenheim F & Bayón T (2007) "The chain from customer satisfaction via word-of-mouth referrals to new customer acquisition", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 35 Issue 2, pp233-249Woodside AG& Wilson EJ (1994) "Diagnosing Customer Comparisons of Competitors ' Marketing Mix Strategies", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 31 Issue 2/3, pp133-140

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mkt 421 Week 1 Paper

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Marketing is often thought of as advertising and selling, but marketing encompasses more than just selling a product or service and advertising it to entice customers to make a purchase. Perrault, Cannon, and McCarthy (2009) defined marketing as "the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization’s objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client" (p. 6). However, Kotler and Keller (2009) stated one of the shortest definitions is "meeting needs profitably" (p. 5). The author's definition of marketing includes all of the activities a business accomplishes to identify customers, products and services that will fill a void, targeting potential customers with advertising, delivering the products or services, and following through with quality customer service.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2012). Marketing management (14th ed.). :Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.…

    • 3427 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unit IV Scholarly Activity

    • 1089 Words
    • 4 Pages

    References: Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing Management (14 ed.). NJ: Prentice Hall.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing management (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Perason/Prentice Hall.…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    References: Kotler, P. & Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.…

    • 11912 Words
    • 48 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mkt 421 Wk 1 Individual

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Many may have the general idea of what marketing is, but looking it at a micro level brings to play many more aspects that the average eye may not see. A lot more goes into marketing and for myself marketing is what gets the consumers to buy into the product. In the book, Basic Marketing: A marketing plan strategy approach states, "Marketing is the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization’s objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client" (Basic Marketing: A marketing plan strategy approach, 2011). Whereas The Columbia Encyclopedia says, "Marketing includes the activities of all those engaged in the transfer of goods from producer to consumer—not only those who buy and sell directly, wholesale and retail, but also those who develop, warehouse, transport, insure, finance, or promote the product, or otherwise have a hand in the process of transfer" (Columbia Encyclopedia, 2008). Finally, the Marketing Management (14th ed) states that, "Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs. One of the shortest good definitions of marketing is “meeting needs profitably” (Marketing Management, 2012). The concept of "meeting needs profitably" is true because at the end of the day that is the entire purpose of marketing. Spending money is a huge deal for any company and the way we spend "marketing dollars" can really make or break the product being sold.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hubspot - Case Analysis

    • 5045 Words
    • 21 Pages

    References: Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2009). A framework for marketing management (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.…

    • 5045 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing management (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Market Segmentation -Hmv

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Best, R.J. (2000), Market-based management: strategies for growing customer value and profitability, 2nd edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.…

    • 1861 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall.…

    • 1822 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed., pp. 517-518). Essex, London: Prentice Hall.…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    roaring dragon

    • 569 Words
    • 2 Pages

    References: Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2011). Marketing Management. (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. ISBN: 9780132102926…

    • 569 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Keller, K.L. & Kotler, P., (2009). Marketing Management (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.…

    • 4123 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Telling and Selling

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages

    * Today, marketing must be understood not in the old sense of making a sale – ‘'telling and selling'' – but in the new sense of satisfying customer needs. If the marketer does a good job of understanding consumer needs; develops products that provide superior value; and prices, distributes, and promotes them effectively, these products will sell very easily.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics