The fifties of the last century were marked by a significant milestone in the development of the economies of most industrialized countries - the transition to a "buyer's market". This type of market is characterized by the predominance of supply over demand, which opens up freedom of choice for the consumer, and exacerbates the problem of sales for the manufacturer. It is in this situation that a new "philosophy" is born, the concept of entrepreneurship - marketing, which is based on the effective satisfaction of the customer's needs.
The marketing motto is simple and logical: to produce what will be successfully sold, not to sell what is produced. Determining the optimal volume and structure of solvent needs and developing effective means of meeting them is the main thing in the marketing policy of any enterprise. At the same time, goods are a tool for satisfying needs. The main thing in the marketing approach to the management of market activities is the complexity, purposefulness of the impact on the market (consumers). The marketing complex is called differently: the marketing mixture, the function 4p (four pi) - from the first letter of the English alphabet. Product - "product", price - "price", sales (distribution) - "place" or "physical distribution", promotion - "promotion" (marketing communications: advertising, "public relations", sales promotion and personal sale).
All these elements are closely related and interdependent. Market laws define the basic functions of marketing. This is the study of demand for products (services), identification of actual needs, forecasting consumer demands; development of a new product or service, its range; development of a pricing strategy; organization of optimal distribution channels and creation of a system for generating demand and stimulating sales.
The founder of the theory of marketing (from the English marketing - sale, trade in the market) - the American scientist F. Kotler defined marketing as a type of human activity that is aimed at satisfying needs and demands through exchange (the act of purchase and sale).
The original idea behind marketing is the idea of human need, i.e. feelings of lack of something by a person (food, clothing, warmth, security, knowledge, self-expression, spiritual closeness, and so on). A need that becomes specific due to the peculiarities of the cultural level and personality of the individual is a need. Needs and needs are met by goods. Any manufacturer is interested in that, despite constantly changing consumer preferences and increasing competition, it is his product that is in demand. This is why marketing management is, first of all, demand management.
An entrepreneur in a market economy has the main goal - to make a profit from his activities, his business. Its product or service must be such that it is necessarily sold at a bargain price.
Marketing is always aimed at solving clear practical problems:
- substantiation of the production of exactly those products that are in demand by the market;
- coordination of production, financial and sales activities of the company;
- improving the forms and methods of selling products (services);
- flexible restructuring, reorganization of the company's activities in the event of a change in the level of demand.
Market coverage determines the scale of marketing. Micromarketing is marketing activity in a single company or group of companies. Macromarketing is a marketing activity that covers a wide range of goods and services within entire industries, nationwide and even globally.
Marketing activities can be carried out with a focus on different approaches depending on specific economic and social conditions. In conditions of a shortage of goods, the concept of improving production (increasing its efficiency, increasing production volumes) will be justified. In case of demand for quality, the concept of product improvement will be relevant. The concept of commercial efforts can give a positive, but, as a rule, short-term effect: the product will be sold only with forced and intensive incentives. The concept of social and ethical marketing deserves attention, in which the combination of the economic interests of producers, individual needs of consumers and the interests of society (public morality, ecology, regional culture, etc.) is at the forefront.
