The evolution of the marketing concept

Until the 1920s business was directed toward the production of goods. Consumer demand for goods was very great. Manufacturers could sell almost everything they produced. Business had a strong production orientation. Increased output and production efficiency were at the centre. Marketing was limited to taking orders and distributing finished goods.

In the 1920s producers had to sell goods to consumers whose basic wants were already satisfied. Now manufacturers produced goods they expected consumers to want. Sales orientation was characterized by increased advertising, sales forces, and selling techniques.

During 1950s business people understood that they were not primarily producers or sellers. They were in business of satisfying customers’ wants. They adopted customer orientation. It meant that at first the organization had to determine what customers need, and then develop goods and services to fill those needs.

Most contemporary marketing theorists distinguish between the out-of-date ‘selling concept’ and the modern ‘marketing concept’. The former – the selling concept – assumes that resisting consumers have to be persuaded by vigorous hard-selling techniques to buy non-essential goods or services. In other words, products are sold rather than bought. The marketing concept, on the contrary, assumes that the producer’s task is to find wants and fill them. In other words, you don’t sell what you make; you make what will be bought.

Non-profit organizations have other, social, goals, such as persuading people not to smoke, or to give money to people in poor countries, but these organizations also use the techniques of marketing.

2. Answer the questions:

1.What types of orientation in producing goods and services are mentioned?

2.Why could manufacturers sell almost all products they produced until 1920?

3.How was marketing limited at that period?

4.Why was sales orientation adopted?

5.What was sales orientation characterized by?

6.What is the main idea of customer orientation?

7.What is the assumption of the selling concept?

8.What is the assumption of the marketing concept?

3. Match the words with their definitions:

1.The total value of the goods produced or services performed (by an individual, a company, an industry, or a whole country).

2.The assumption that consumers will only buy if producers or sellers make great efforts to stimulate their interest.

3.The belief that firms should discover the needs and wants of target markets, and satisfy them better than the competitors.

4.To run.

5.Old and no longer suitable for modern processes, purposes, or methods.

6.A person or company that manufactures a product.

7.A kind of organization that works to help people in some way rather than to make a profit.

a) manufacturer b) non-profit c) output g) marketing concept

d) manage or control e) selling concept f) out-of-date

4. a) Study the definitions of some other marketing concepts and choose the right name for them:

1.The company should focus on improving production efficiency.

2.The company should consider the needs not only of its customer but also of society as a whole. The idea that business should market products that preserve or improve the consumers’ and society’s well-being.

3.The company should focus its efforts on making product improvements. An idea for a new product which is tested with target consumers before the actual product is developed.

4.The company should focus on the needs of its customers. The belief that firms should discover the needs and wants of target markets, and satisfy them better than the competitors.

5.The company should focus its efforts on selling and promotion. The assumption that consumers will only buy if producers or sellers make great efforts to stimulate their interest.

a) the selling concept b) the production concept c) the marketing concept

d) the societal marketing concept e) the product concept

b) Read and allocate the above concepts to each of the speaker, be ready to answer the questions below:

1. “As I see the problem, the major focus of investment must be in improving productivity. We’ve also got to make sure there are no delays in deliveries. In this way we can aim to bring down the price and make our products more available. We’re in mass market, where prices and availability are what matter most to our customers.”

2. “I feel what we are still failing to do is to establish a strong enough brand. The only way we can do this in an increasingly competitive market is to increase our budgets in advertising and make our salesforce even more effective.”

3. “What we need is to take an outside-in approach. I mean we’ve got to get to know our customers better, what their needs and wants are. If we are just production- or sales-oriented, that’ll keep the turnover going in the short term but we’ve got to stay ahead of the competition in the long term. We must certainly ensure quality and price for our existing products and promote them well, but above all we need to look to the future – a strategy for the next 20 years in terms of growth. This means better market research – generally a more integrated approach.

4. “It’s not enough to focus just on our customers’ present and future needs. We have to take a wider view – there are strong pressures in society now which have little to do with individual needs and wants – I’m thinking of the environment in particular. I feel we need to look at what type of world we are …”

5. “This company has made its name and its money by being first in the field in new cars. You only have to look at the Japanese to see what they’re spending on R&D. Product innovation is where the future is …”

1. How does the speaker 1 aim to bring down prices?

2. How does speaker 2 intend to develop a strategy for the future?

3. What added dimensions does speaker 4 include?

4. Why does speaker 5 mention the Japanese?

5. Choose the most suitable word to complete the sentence:

1. The belief that firms should discover the needs and wants of target markets, and satisfy them better than the competitors is called … .

a) selling concept b) marketing concept c) societal marketing concept

2. Many authors argue that the marketing concept has replaced the … concept.

a) sold b) sales c) selling

3. The concept that consumers will only buy if producers or sellers make great efforts to stimulate their interest is called … .

a) product concept b) selling concept c) production concept

4. An idea for a new product, which is tested with target consumers before the actual product is developed is … .

a) marketing concept b) production concept c) product concept

5. The idea that business should market products that preserve or improve the consumers’ and society’s well-being is called … .

a) society concept b) society marketing concept c) social concept

6. The marketing concept involves the entire organization in the process of satisfying customers’ needs and … the organizational goals.

a) getting b) achieving c) approaching

7. Nowadays the hard-selling concept is considered to be … .

a) current b) promising c) out-of-date

UNIT 5

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 4167