MARKET
The concepts of exchange and relationships lead to the concept of a market.
A market is the set of actual and potential buyers of a product or service. These
buyers share a particular need or want that can be satisfied through exchange
relationships.
Marketing means managing markets to bring about profitable customer
relationships. However, creating these relationships takes work. Sellers must
search for and engage buyers, identify their needs, design good market offerings,
set prices for them, promote them, and store and deliver them. Activities such as
consumer research, product development, communication, distribution, pricing,
and service are core marketing activities.
Although we normally think of marketing as being carried out by sellers,
buyers also carry out marketing. Consumers market when they search for
products, interact with companies to obtain information, and make their
purchases. In fact, today’s digital technologies, from online sites and smartphone
apps to the explosion of social media, have empowered consumers and made
marketing a truly two-way affair. Thus, in addition to customer relationship
management, today’s marketers must also deal effectively with customer-
managed relationships. Marketers are no longer asking only “How can we
influence our customers?” but also “How can our customers influence us?” and
even “How can our customers influence each other?”
The main elements in a marketing system. Marketing involves serving a
market of final consumers in the face of competitors. The company and
competitors research the market and interact with consumers to understand their
needs. Then they create and exchange market offerings, messages, and other
marketing content with consumers, either directly or through marketing
intermediaries. Each party in the system is affected by major environmental
forces (demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and
social/cultural).
Each party in the system adds value for the next level. The arrows represent
relationships that must be developed and managed. Thus, a company’s success
at engaging customers and building profitable relationships depends not only on
its own actions but also on how well the entire system serves the needs of final
consumers. Walmart cannot fulfill its promise of low prices unless its suppliers
provide merchandise at low costs. And Ford cannot deliver a high-quality car-
ownership experience unless its dealers provide outstanding sales and service.
