Marketing is far more than advertising. It is the whole process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs in a way that helps a business succeed.
The role of marketing
Marketing helps a business in several linked ways:
- Identifying customer needs, for example modest sportswear or affordable revision guides.
- Anticipating how needs will change in the future.
- Satisfying those needs with the right product, at the right price and place.
- Building good relationships so customers return and recommend the business.
Market-orientated businesses
A market-orientated business puts the customer first. It carries out research to find out what people want, then designs its products around those findings. A halal snack company that asks families which flavours they prefer before launching is market-orientated. This approach reduces the risk of failure because the product is based on real demand.
Product-orientated businesses
A product-orientated business focuses on making a high-quality product and assumes customers will want it. This can work for genuinely new inventions, but it is risky because the business may create something few people need. Many firms combine both: they make a strong product and listen carefully to customers.
Marketing objectives
Businesses set marketing objectives such as increasing sales, growing market share, entering a new market, or building customer loyalty. Market share is the percentage of total sales in a market that one business holds. A family bookshop might aim to raise its share of local children's book sales by offering a friendly reading corner. Clear objectives help a business measure whether its marketing is working.
Put these steps in order for a market-orientated approach to launching a product:
- Research what customers need or want
- Design the product around those findings
- Make and price the product
- Sell it and gather customer feedback