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Understanding Key Concepts of Marketing

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What is marketing? Contrary to what a layperson thinks there is more to marketing than just running ads and selling products (Perreault, Cannon & McCarty, 2014). The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (para. 1). Effective marketing involves strategic concepts. Some of which include how companies use marketing to Place, Promote, and Price their Products. More importantly, an understanding of the marketing concept, the marketing strategy, and the marketing plan is required for a company’s marketing efforts to be successful.
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analysis, a competitor matrix compares the strengths and weaknesses of a company with those of its competitors. Examining and evaluating direct and external markets is crucial. Changes in these environments can create new opportunities as well as identify challenges. In addition to analyzing direct and external markets, companies should understand and analyze customers in a market.
Before a company can analyze customers in a market, the company must understand and define the market. There are two basic types of markets: generic markets and product markets. It is important to define these markets as this can help companies find opportunities. However, if a company defines its market to broadly the company’s marketing effort might be wasted. On the other hand, too narrow of a definition might limit a company’s opportunities. The following represents a complete product-market definition:
What: 1. Product type (type of goods and type of service)
To meet what: 2. Customer (user) needs
For whom: 3. Customer types
Where: 4. Geographic area (Perreault et al., 2014).

Product type is the goods/services the customers want. Customer needs are the needs the product type satisfies for the customer. Customer types are the final consumer or user of the product type. Lastly, the geographic area is where the company competes or plans to compete. (Perreault et al., 2014). While using the above product-market definition is important, the most effective way to find new

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