CONCEPT OF MARKETING AND MARKETING FUNCTIONS

Definitions of Marketing

Marketing is as old as man in its crude concept and in its modern practice and application. In error of
understanding of what marketing is, on daily basis is confused with advertising or selling. These are all aspects of
marketing practice; they are not the same thing as marketing. The everyday understanding of marketing attempts
to limit or reduce the scope and application of marketing principles and strategies. Marketing activities and
functions are based on two fundamental pillars: satisfaction of consumers‟ needs and building enduring long-
lasting relationship with the customers. Marketing usually attracts negative reactions from the public, this is due
largely to perception. A number of people view marketing as a profession that persuade others to buy what they
don’t wants or like or about cheating people. A marketer must think of himself as both a frontline staff and
customer relation manager. This is necessary because customers must think of getting value for money. Without a
satisfied customer there is no business.

In general term, marketing is both social and managerial process by which the needs of individuals and
organizations are met through an organization creation and exchanging of value/offering with the customers. In
other words, marketing involves meeting the specific needs of the customers with want satisfying attributes that
will allow the organization to make profit. Armstrong and Kotler (2008) defined marketing as management
process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to
capture value from customers in return. The aim of marketing as a discipline and profession is to ensure that
customers will conduct exchanges with the marketer’s organization. Therefore, marketing is defined by UK
Chartered Institute of Marketing as the management process which identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer
requirements efficiently and profitably. This definition is criticized for three reasons (a) because it identifies profit
as the outcome and reward for marketing efforts. Marketing approaches and strategies are used by nonprofit
organization without profit motive. However, the nonprofit organizations have rewards for the use of marketing
strategies that are not expressed in terms of profit; (b) it ignores the social context role of marketing and (c)
refused to recognized the role of consumers in the total marketing efforts. American Marketing Association
Defined Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of
ideas, goods and services to create exchange and satisfy individual and organizational objectives. This definition
also suffered similar criticism as those of UK Institute of Marketing. Despite the criticism, there are salient points
that can be drawn from the two definitions. These are that marketing:

a. Is a management process that requires adequate planning and commitment of resources;

b. Involves identification and satisfaction of consumers‟ wants effectively;

c. Requires development of appropriate marketing strategies to deliver want satisfying attributes;

d. Involves creation of exchange between customers and the organization;

Basic Concepts Relating to Marketing

Needs: Parties to an exchange must have needs or wants that must be met in the exchange process. Need is a
state of deprivation or lack. For example, man that is hungry will have a need for food. He is in a state of
deprivation. Human needs come in different forms: physiological needs (food, shelter); security\safety needs;
social needs (belongingness, acceptance) and ego needs. Consumers that are in need will search for goods and
services that satisfy or fill their needs. Marketers in turn through their organizations produce goods and services
that will meet these needs and making such available. Exchange process actually starts from existence of needs
and ability of the organization to meet those needs.

Wants: Needs usually give rise to wants. Wants are the forms a need will take for it to be satisfied. The man who
is hungry (that is have a need) will need food (want) as specific item that will satisfy his need. A homeless man is
in a state of deprivation of accommodation. To satisfy his state of lack he will need of accommodation. His want
will be the form of accommodation he desires to meet his specific need. The forms of accommodation could be a
hut, a room accommodation, „self-contained‟ a flat etc. Whatever type of accommodation that he takes to satisfy
his need becomes his want. Wants-satisfying products will be bought only by consumers who are willing and have
the ability to pay. A core variable in the exchange function is demand.

Demand: This is the willing and ability of a consumer to purchase a given product at a particular prevailing price
and time. When a consumer seeks to buy a product that will satisfy his want he creates demand. There are
different states of demand that marketers must be conversant with in order to maximize opportunity of the
market. These are:

a. Negative Demand: A market situation in which the customers dislike the product, and actively avoided it.
b. No Demand: A market situation in which the consumers either are aware of the existence of the product,
particularly new product, or when the demand for the product is extremely low.

c. Latent Demand: A demand situation the existing products fail to completely satisfy current needs. Or a situation
where no product current satisfies existing needs.

d. Declining Demand: A demand situation where the demand for a product is declining partly because of change
in attitude, tastes, fashion or culture. This can also be as result of existence of superior substitutes in the market.

e. Irregular Demand: This is a demand situation in which the demand fluctuates between high sales and low sales.
This is common with seasonal products.

f. Full Demand: This is a period of maximum possible sales, when sales is at its peak

g. Overfull Demand: This is when demand is greater than supply. This demand situation attracts a lot of
competitors and forces the consumers to seek for alternative products.

h. Unwholesome demand: A market situation in which the products available or produced for consumption are
regarded as harmful. Notwithstanding, consumers are still buying or willing to buy those harmful products

Exchange: It is giving something of value in return for other things of value. Marketing will not be complete until
consumers are willing to pay for goods that will satisfy their wants. Exchange must satisfy certain conditions for it
to be complete. These are:

a. There must be at least of two parties to the exchange.

b. Both parties to the exchange must transact voluntarily and willingly without

anyone being coarse into the exchange

c. Each party must bring something of value to the exchange

d. Objects of exchange may or may not be commensurate

Goods and Services: The objects of value which is at the center of the exchange process could be money, goods,
services, organization, people or ideas. Needs are satisfied with goods and services with money as the means of
exchange. A good or product is anything that satisfies wants. Goods are tangible physical objects or items that can
be held, felt, seen e.g. food, car, house e.t.c. services are intangible wants satisfying attributes which cannot be
held, felt or seen. Purchase of services does not confer ownership of anything on the buyer; it only provides
access to the enjoyment or benefit of the service for example, transportation, banking, and holidaying. It is
impossible to offer products for sale without accompanying services and vice versa. The sale of car is
accompanied by maintenance and guarantee which are services. Restaurant business is essential service but
cannot be offered without accompanying physical goods the food, tables and chairs. The idea of a product
therefore could be goods, services, ideas, persons or places, experiences, events, properties, organizational and
information.

Market: Market is related to demand. Market consists of all current and potential buyers of a product or service.
Buyers could be individuals or group (consumer market) or organizations (industrial market) who have needs to
be met and are willing and able to pay for the satisfaction of their needs. Market in this context should not be
confused with other meanings of the word. In other contexts, market could be a geographical location where
buyers and sellers transact trading activities. It could also be said to be buyers and sellers of a particular product
operating in a particular industry e.g. foreign exchange market or produce market or labor market. To a marketer,
market is interaction that exists between buyers and sellers.

Importance of Marketing
The importance of marketing can be felt in all areas of individual and national lives. Some of these benefits are
taken for granted because they are part of our daily life. Let us examine some of this importance:

To the Consumers
a. Marketing helps consumers to meet their needs. Remember we define marketing as a process of identification
and anticipating consumers‟ needs. The marketer must be able to meet the expressed and latent needs of the
consumers.

b. Marketing makes goods makes goods and services that satisfy such needs. Goods and services are not only
made available to satisfy consumers‟ needs, they are priced, distributed and promoted in such a way as to ensure
efficient satisfaction of needs.

c. Marketing makes consumers better informed. Marketing activities especially promotion is designed to inform
and persuade consumers. Marketing interaction with consumers at times places at the disposal of consumers‟
information that may help them appreciate the product and make informed decisions. Consumers are informed
on the distribution channels and processes on where the products are available and in what firms.

d. Marketing helps the consumers to be aware of their rights.

e. Improves level of standard of living of the consumers. Marketing efforts make available to the consumer variety
of goods that are priced competitively.

f. Marketing makes consumers to be conscious of what to buy, where to buy and how to buy and make available
goods and services that consumers could not have had access to without marketing efforts.

g. Consumers‟ interest can also be aroused in terms of career development in marketing. Marketing offers a large
number of career opportunities for individuals. A marketer’s knowledge is broadened because of the multi-
disciplinary approach to marketing activities. A career in marketing exposes the consumer or a number of
interesting areas, places, people and events. It also provides a career development path that can cumulate at the
apex office in any organization.

To the Organization

Marketing activities are at the core of all organizational efforts. This is so because the social and economic reason
for the existence of the organization is the satisfaction of the consumers. This is the center of marketing activities
which must be embraced by all other functional areas.

a. Every other units and departments in the organizations are important but it is marketing activities that generate
revenue and profit directly.

b. Marketing activities help the organization to identify its competitive advantages. In a dynamic, complex and
highly competitive environment the importance of marketing cannot be overemphasized.

c. This is because marketing helps the organization to identify consumers‟ needs, produce the product, price,
distribute and promote in such a way to enhance consumers‟ satisfaction. This is done bearing in mind the
actions of the competitors.

d. Available resources are scarce and have alternative uses. Marketing helps the organization to utilize available
resources optimally and ensure adequate returns on investment through profitable sales.

e. Nonprofit organizations have come to realize the importance of marketing in reaching target audience.
Marketing becomes readily made tool in dealing with target audience and reach donor organizations.

To the National Economy

a. The relative high standard of living experience in the late 20th and early 21stcentury can be attributed to
aggressive marketing during those periods. This is made possible through mass marketing, efficient distribution,
mass production which reduces cost and mass customization of products to the specific individual needs and
tastes.

b. In developing countries like Nigeria, marketing helps to make available large variety of goods not produced in
the country but high demand. Total marketing activities provide a large number of employment opportunities
either directly or indirectly. Employment can be generated through retailing, wholesaling, transportation,
warehousing and communication activities. There are a number of people that are employed directly in marketing
departments of manufacturing, agricultural, mining and service industries and advertising agencies.

c. One important function of marketing is the creation of utility. That is creating satisfaction to the consumers of
the product. There are a number of utilities that marketing helps to create:
Form utility: The making of goods available in the form desired by the consumers. For example, the
breaking of 50kg bag of detergent to smaller packs that consumers can afford creates form utility. Marketers help
the organization in making designs on style, size, color and packaging of the product.

 Place utility: This is the satisfaction derived by the consumers when the product is available in desired location
or made easily accessible. Channel and physical distribution can help to achieve this.

 Time utility: Delivery of a product or service to the consumer at the right time the product is desired provides
time utility (satisfaction). This is when weekend and night opening of shops become very helpful

 Possession utility: This is when ownership of goods is transferred or access to the equipment or the service is
made possible. The satisfaction of owning an item (ownership) is performed through marketing function.

To the International Market

a. A large number of markets have been opened up and accessible through globalization. Aggressive marketing
now enhances total world production not only for domestic markets but new markets abroad.
b. Aside from increased production, production efficiency has been enhanced through new technology and
competition.

c. Regional agreements and trade agreements have also reduced economic barriers and liberalizing trade
between members or signatories to such agreements.

d. National resources in form of finite resource (natural and mineral resources) and other resources are optimally
utilized. This is because alternate uses of these resources have been found to satisfy needs. More importantly,
alternate sources of resources are continually being searched for.