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Fundamental Concepts

Defining Marketing

Developed by:

Stephen P. D’Alessandro

M.A. (Mrktg), B.A. (Hons.) Bus. Mang, FIM, MCIM, TEP, MIOD

Clive Scerri

B.Com. (Hons.), MIM, MAWOP

This module has been level-rated at MQF Level 5 by the Malta Qualifications Council according to the

European Credit System for Vocational Education & Training - ECVET.

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Overview

• Any effective analysis of marketing must start off

with the most basic questions:

• What is marketing all about?

• What is its aim?

• Traditionally, marketing has been associated with

advertising and selling, however over the years

studies and international best practice have

shown that there is more to marketing than that

• The marketing landscape has evolved through

time, based on the needs of the industry, the

consumers and the tools provided to marketers

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Overview

• Marketing is not about the setting up of a

department within an organisation which is

focused on sales and carries out some marketing

research in support of such activities

• Marketing is far more than that; it is indeed a

philosophy based on continually looking at the

business from the most important perspective of

all – the customer’s!

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Overview

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Getting the basics right

• What is marketing?

• Marketing is more than just a sales or

advertising department

• Quite simply it is all about "looking at the

business through the customers' eyes"

• It is vital because it enables the enterprise to

plan on the basis of the true objective and is

the only yardstick which will guarantee

success; i.e. supplying value satisfactions to

the customer at a profit 5

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Getting the basics right

• With this basic understanding, the definition of

the essence of marketing is more pertinent and

reflects how this translates to the actual

workplace by going through the 5 key steps of

the marketing process

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The Marketing System

The market and its segments

• Within each market there are a number of different segments which can further be divided into groups of actual or potential customers who can satisfy similar needs with the benefits of the same product

• Each segment can in fact be differentiated by a degree of buyer loyalty ranging from total to nil

• These segments have to be tackled selectively to achieve minimum conflict to image and maximum profitability

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The company and its functions

• Every company has three basic functions, namely: production, finance and marketing.

• It operates through the utilisation of two major resources, capital and labour

• Each of these functions has a different objective, operates to some extent on a different time-scale, attracts different types of people and regards money in a different way

The Marketing System

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The company and its functions (cont.)

• It calls for a prioritisation of the various internal goals and objectives, to ensure that there is an understanding of the overall goals and objectives of the firm and the manner in which the different people must collaborate to attain them

The Marketing System

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