1、 Marketing (From: Sun Kun of Accounting English, 2008.) Marketing is a group of interrelated activities designed to identify consumer needs and to develop,distribute,promote,and price goods and services to satisfy these needs at a profit.Whether an organization is large or small,whether it produces
2、a product or provides a service,its long-range future is linked to successful markting practices. The old saying Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your dooris not true. They must need the product,know about it,be able to get it when and where they want it,and be able to affo
3、rd it.Marketing provides the means to make the organization successful in the long run. 1.The Marketing Concept Marketing was unheard of in the early 1900s. This period can best be described as one where far more people needed consumer goods than companies were able to manufacture.This intense deman
4、d on manufacturing led to organizations dominated by production management. Companies had a production orientation: where the number one priority is to produce a good to keep up with demand. All energies and talents were laced in the production function. Selling a good was incidental； determining co
5、nsumer needs was unheard of. As manufacturers increased their production capabilities,the supply of goods available increased and inventories of goods developed. An emphasis on selling occurred. This need to sell led to a sales-dominated company-a sales orientation,whereby the energy of the company
6、is focused on selling the products produced. The salespersios job:(1)to make the desires of the consumers fitthe products the company manufactures and (2)to convince the consumer to buy. The companys goal:tosend the out full and bring it back empty. As more producers began competing for consumer dol
7、lars by making such high-demand products as automobiles,vacuum cleaners,and refrigerators,the supply of goods began to exceed the demand. Companies had to find a way to identify consumer demand. Company profits. Companies that are marketing oriented have adopted a philosophy for the firm known as th
8、e marketing concept.The marketing concept is a belief that the company 2 should adopt a companywide consumer orientation directed at long-range profitability.It includes the belied that all efforts of the organization should be directed at identifying and satisfying Production Orientation Companies
9、were essentially production-oriented from the latter part of the nineteenth century to about 1920. Emphasis was placed on filling the demand for basic commodities. The typical family had little discretionary income and there was little demand for products not associated with filling those basic fami
10、ly requirements.Demand was usually supplied by the producers perception of what consumers needed. Product design and product line decisions were heavily influenced by manufacturing considerations.Management attention was directed primarily toimproving production methods,increasing output,and lowerin
11、g costs. Sales Orientation The period of sales orientation covered roughly the years from 1920 to 1950.With the exception of the years of the Grat Depression ,this period was characterized by gradually rising discretionary income,emerging demand for products,increasing competition,and the expansion
12、of distribution channels. Although product decisions continued to be dominated by what the manufacturing department wanted to make ,the role of sales became increasingly important. With the production department capable of tuning out increasing quantities of goods through mass production techniques,
13、company success began to turn on the ability of the sales force to move inventories. Market Orientation Covering the years from about 1950 to 1970 ,this period was characterized by a continuing shift in business emphasis to understanding and reacting to changing markets.The dramatic rise in consumer
14、 discretionary income following World War II created demand for new products and services. The mobility provided by mass ownership of automobiles encouraged the development of suburbs, new shopping patterns, and changes in distribution methods. Markets became more segmented and more complex. Product
15、 life cycles shortened. With these conditions,production people no longer were in a position to determine accurately what would sell. Selling skills were no longer sufficient to overcome the problems created when products were not attuned to a more discriminant market demand. In order to provide a b
16、etter fit between market 3 demand and company offerings-and in order to provide for better coordination of marketing activities-companies reorganized and assigned increased responsibilities to the marketing department. Marketing took on the role of analyzing markets and interpreting the needs, and m
17、anufacturing departments. More sophisticated aproaches were developed to fulfill the traditional marketing roles of product promotion and the management of distribution channels. The role of marketing in pricing increased.And finally, the marketing department became the focal point for the developme
18、nt of corporate strategies needed to adjust to market change. Societal Orientation When managements adopted the marketing concept, they could not foresee the environmental problems or the changes in societys values that would raise questions about the market orientation philosophy. In terms of what
19、we now know about pollution, the finiteness of raw materials, and the apparent inability of our economic system to eliminate poverty, some people question whether what is good for the individual consumer is always good for society.Increasingly, national policy-and, in turn, business policy-is temper
20、ing concern for the consumer with concern for society as a whole. Thomas A. Murphy, chairman of General Motors, addressed this dilemma when he said , We may have let ourselves grow out of touch with the customers need for continued satisfaction in a time of heightened expectations and the societys c
21、oncern for environmental improve-ment and energy conservation. Marketing policies attuned to serving the market as the market wants to be served continue to represent modern company policy. But we are also seeing market-oriented decisions modified by societal concerns, as a result both of law and of
22、 responsible management policies. 2.Channels of distribution Efficient production methods, coupled with skilful marketing ,may have ensured that we can produce goods or services cheaply and that there is a market for them. There remains the vitally important question of how we actually get our goods and services to the customer. Direct sales to Customers This ,of course, is the oldest form of distribution and in many trades it remains the most important. However, it can be a very awkward one in some
