Core Marketing Concepts

Needs, Wants, and Demands

Needs: Basic human requirements or states of felt deprivation.
- Examples: Air, food, water, clothing, shelter, recreation, education.
Wants: When needs are directed to specific objects that might satisfy the need, shaped by culture and personality.
- Example: Food is a need, but wanting biryani or pizza is a want.
Demands: Wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay (buying power).
- Example: Many people desire a Rolls Royce car, but only a few can afford it.

Stated needs: What the customer explicitly says they want (e.g., "I want an inexpensive car").
Real needs: The underlying need behind the stated need (e.g., "I want a car with low operating costs").
Unstated needs: Needs the customer expects to be fulfilled without explicitly stating them (e.g., "I expect good service from the dealer").
Delight needs: Needs that would enhance the customer's experience but are not expected (e.g., "I would like the car to have a built-in navigation system").
Secret needs: Needs that are not expressed, often due to social or psychological reasons (e.g., "I want my friends to see me as a savvy consumer").

Market Offering: A combination of products, services, information, and experiences offered to a target market to satisfy their needs.
Value Proposition: A set of benefits that the company promises to deliver to customers to satisfy their needs.

Brand: A name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that identifies and differentiates a company's offerings from those of competitors.

Customer-Perceived Value: The customer's evaluation of the difference between the benefits and costs of a market offering, relative to competing offerings.
Customer Satisfaction: The extent to which a product's perceived performance matches or exceeds customer expectations.

Communication channels: Deliver and receive messages from target buyers (e.g., social media, email, websites).
Distribution channels: Display, sell, or deliver products to customers (e.g., distributors, wholesalers, retailers).
Service channels: Facilitate transactions and provide customer support (e.g., banks, insurance agencies, transportation companies).

Supply Chain: The entire system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
Partner Relationship Management: Working closely with partners in and outside the company to create greater value for customers.

Competition is about all external forces affecting a company's ability to attract and keep customers, not just direct rivals.

Key Aspects:

Direct Competitors: Similar products, same market (e.g., Coke vs. Pepsi).
Indirect Competitors: Different products, same need (e.g., coffee vs. tea).
Potential New Entrants: Possible future competitors.
Substitute Products/Services: Alternatives satisfying the same need (e.g., email vs. mail).
Power of Buyers: Customers' influence on prices.
Power of Suppliers: Suppliers' influence on prices.

The marketing environment is all internal and external factors impacting a company's marketing efforts and customer relationships.

Key Components:

Microenvironment: Close to the company:
- Company, Suppliers, Intermediaries, Customers, Competitors, Publics.
Macroenvironment: Larger societal forces:
- Demographic, Economic, Natural, Technological, Political, Cultural factors.