Marketing–What’s It All About
If forced to define marketing, most people, including some business managers, say that marketing means “selling” or “advertising.” It’s true that these are parts of marketing. But marketing is much more than selling and advertising.
How Marketing Relates to Production
Production is a very important economic activity. Whether for lack of skill and resources or just lack of time, most people don’t make most of the products they use.
Although production is a necessary economic activity, some people overrate itsimportance in relation to marketing. Their attitude is reflected in the old saying:“Make a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” In otherwords, they think that if you just have a good product, your business will be a success.
The point is that production and marketing are both important parts of a total business system aimed at providing consumers with need- satisfying goods and services. Together, production and marketing supply five kinds of economic utility—form, task, time, place, and possession utility that are needed to provide consumer satisfaction. Here, utility means the power to satisfy human needs.
Form utility is provided when someone produces something tangible—for instance, a bicycle.
Task utility is provided when someone performs a task for someone elsefor instance, a bicycle. The product must be something that consumers want or there is no need to be satisfied.
Time utility means having the product available when the customer wants it. And place utility means having the product available where the customer wants it. Time and place utility are very important for services too. For example, neighborhood emergency carehealth clinics have become very popular. People just walk in as soon as they feel sick, not a day later when their doctor can schedule an appointment.
Possession utility