Marketing
From Encyclopædia
Marketing is the process by which goods are sold and purchased. That process may be a simple act of exchange or an intricate, sensitive mechanism, whereby goods and the title to them are moved from farmers, manufacturers, miners, and others who produce them to consumers. Simple marketing activities began with the development of a nonsubsistence economy and interregional trade, including caravan and maritime commerce. Village fairs, town markets, and peddlers were all involved in primitive marketing activities. Later, general stores, traveling salespeople, and, still later, the 20th-century chain store became the
chief marketing agencies. Modern marketing has evolved into a complex and diverse field. This field includes a wide variety of special functions such as ADVERTISING, MAIL-ORDER BUSINESS,
public relations, RETAILING and merchandising,
sales, transportation,
wholesaling, marketing research, and pricing of goods.The aim of marketing is to acquire, retain, and satisfy customers. Marketers begin by identifying the market for their product. Then they tailor their efforts to satisfy the needs and wants of customers within that market. A customer may be an industrial organization such as a food processor, a wholesale or retail outlet, a transportation or warehousing company, or an individual consumer. Those firms which understand the needs of their customers and seek to satisfy them tend to be more successful than those which do not.Marketing costs
average more than 50 percent of the total costs of consumer goods. These costs represent the value added to the product after it leaves the producer and before it reaches the final consumer--determining the shape,
colors, and materials of a product while it is being designed; making the product available in conveniently located stores; guaranteeing its performance; and providing service warranties and easy credit terms.Marketing techniques are also used by politicians, who carefully market themselves and their programs (see
CAMPAIGN, POLITICAL), by
city and state governments to sell bond issues, and by
hospitals and universities for
fund-raising purposes.Modern domestic marketing in the
United States has been greatly affected by a consumer movement that calls for better and safer products, more efficient services, and truthful advertising. Extensive GOVERNMENT REGULATION in almost all fields--from advertising to transportation--has also necessarily claimed the
attention of marketers.With the
growth of multinational corporations, marketing has greatly expanded its scope; many marketing managers take the whole
world as their marketplace. Thus Eastman Kodak marketed its new Instamatic
camera simultaneously in 28 countries in 1963--the first time simultaneous worldwide marketing was achieved--and prepared advertising and publicity in more than 20
languages. Managers of such global activities must take into account international differences in climate, customs, and business practices.James. A. Constantin and
jack J. KasulisBibliography: Bartels, Robert, The History of Marketing Thought, 3d ed. (1988); Cateora, Philip R., and Richardson, Lee, Readings in Marketing Today (1985); Cundiff, Edward, et al., Fundamentals of Modern Marketing, 4th ed. (1988); Tedlow, Richard S., New and Improved: The Story of Marketing in
America (1990).
