For the first section of the unit Marketing Principles, I need to understand the concept and process of marketing by explaining the various elements of the marketing process and, evaluating the benefits and costs of a marketing orientation for a selected organisation.
Explain the various elements of the marketing process
An organisation’s primary objective is to satisfy customers’ needs by bringing into the market products or services that meet those needs. This is where the marketing process comes in, which is, to analyse the situation, to formulate market strategies, to make decisions and, to implement and control plans (http://www.netmba.com/).
When launching a new or existing product or service, organisations need to carry out a marketing audit to assess the company’s environment, objectives and strategies. The audit has to be planned, cover all the marketing activities of the organisation, has to be independently carried out and done periodically to monitor the progress and resort to take actions if the need is required (Adapted from Kotler et al).
In today’s dynamic environment, market strategies need to be brought together under a single vision. It is crucial that every department within the organisation work together towards a common goal and, by focusing all resources on the same objectives and pursuing the same direction, gives the organisation a competitive edge. This is integrated marketing, where strategies are shared, awareness among the target audience is maximised and policies are consistent within all the marketing-related departments (Adapted from Dransfield et al).
According to Charles Handy, “in today’s marketplace the only constant is change” (Handy, 1994). This means that business organisations need to bear in mind that the market environment is made up of various factors, always changing and that these will have an impact on the customer needs. Managers can categorise these factors by carrying out a PESTEL analysis of the...