Chapter 1
Marketing is a set of business practices designed to plan for and present an organization’s products or services in ways that build effective customer relationships. o Marketing is more than just about buyers and sellers exchanging money for goods and service or making a profit. Marketers must address the ethical implications of their actions on society in general. The main goal of marketing is to create value for both the firm and customer. o Value is in essence what you get for what you give up. The 6 core aspects of marketing are:1) Marketing is about satisfying customer needs and wants. The first step is to understand the needs and wants of consumers. A need is when a person feel deprived of the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing shelter or safety. The want is the particular way in which a person chooses to satisfy a need, which is shaped by a person’s knowledge, culture and personality. The market refers to the groups of people to whom an organization is interested in marketing its products, services or ideas. Therefore, it is vital that a company must first identify the market that it wants to develop its products and services for. 2) Marketing entails value exchange Marketing is about an exchange or trade of things of value between the buyer and the seller so that each is better off as a result. Examples of exchanges can include goods, services, information, knowledge, etc. 3) Marketing requires Product, Price, Place and Promotion Decisions Marketing has traditionally been about making decisions about the marketing mix (four Ps). The marketing mix consists of the following components:• Product: Refers to goods, services and ideas that a firm is marketing to the consumers. • Price: Marketers must determine the price of a product carefully on the basis of the potential buyer’s belief about its value. This is dependent on the time, money and energy a consumer is willing to expend. • Place: Refers to all the