Marketing

❖ The nature and role of markets and marketing

The role of marketing in the firm and in society

What is marketing? • Marketing is a system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want-satisfying products, services and ideas to customers in order to achieve business objectives. • The process is customer-focused; it focuses on the needs and wants of customers, providing goods and services at the right price, place and time.

Marketing’s role in the firm • By continually researching customers and monitoring the business environment, marketing provides the information the business needs in order to change direction or adjust its tactics by providing new products or changing existing productions. • Marketing continues to become more competitive; many goods and services are similar, so business needs to understand its target market to stand out and better serve its customers.

Marketing’s role in society • Maximises customer satisfaction and improves quality of life. • Create jobs. • To operate in a socially responsible way. • Provide goods and services.

Types of markets

• Market – set of all actual and potential buyers of a product.

Resource market • Identified as being where the factors of production (land, labour, capital, enterprise) are sold or exchanged. • The resources are used by firms to produce goods and services, which are then sold to customers. • Land: all the natural resources that go into production of goods/ services (forests, mineral deposits, water). • Labour: all the human physical and mental talents used to make products. • Capital: tools, machinery, equipment and factories, as well as storage and transportation facilities. • Enterprise: initiates the combination of the other resources to produce a product, make business policy decisions and bear