Define Key Concepts in Marketing

Needs, Wants and Demands

      Needs are basic requirements for everyone. Needs are basic things for survival. For example, food, clothing, shelter and air. Apart from above needs, people have strong needs for recreation, social interaction, and education.

      You need “food”, but you might want a Pizza Pizza’s Pizza. People want a specific item or branded item.   

     The ability and willingness to pay for a want makes it a demand. For example, many people want a BMW car, but few are able to pay for it.

Products and Brands

      All those goods, services, and offerings offered by a marketer to satisfy needs and wants of customers. For example, a computer, car repairing, and amusement park.

      A brand is simply a product or an offering from a well-known source. For example, Apple’s Iphone, Dell’s Laptop, and Kellog’s Cereal.

Value and Satisfaction

      A product’s success depends on how much satisfaction and value it can deliver. Always marketers’ goal is try to maximize value to the customers.

     The value is the ratio between perceived benefits (functional and emotional) and perceived cost (monetary and non-monetary).  For example, a customer might choose more expensive product if perceived benefits associated with product are greater.  

     Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services offered by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals.

Marketing Environment

     The marketing environment is what surrounds and effects the organization’s marketing and business activities. The marketing environment can be dividing into 1) Macro-Environment and 2) Micro-Environment.

      The micro-environment involves factors that affect the company directly. These include target customers, suppliers, distributors and the company itself.

      
The macro-environment involves broader factors such as demographics, technology, politics and the state of the economy.

      Competition

     Competition is one of the key concepts in marketing. Competition includes any potential alternatives a buyer might consider while making a buying decision. It includes both similar products as well as substitutes. For example, as substitute for a cola drink, a consumer might consider buying a milk drink or a fruit juice.