Chapter one focuses on the role that marketing plays in the 21st century. The central argument in this chapter is to capture different marketing concepts and philosophies and understand their significance in the marketing practice. The importance of marketing rests on determining the success of companies and their products in the marketplace (Foundations of Marketing, p.5). The ever-growing marketing principles allow companies to spend a significant amount of money on marketing activities. The goal for this is to enhance the economic development of industries and companies, enhance consumer wellbeing and influence the decisions on the products and services the country can offer. Today, companies are successful because of effective marketing programs. The primary goal of marketing is to achieve market value and customer satisfaction. All this rests on ensuring that a company offers quality products. In marketing, customers monitor prices to gauge the quality of the product the company offers. In some cases, low prices denote low quality. It imperative for the company to understand the consumer segment it is targeting.
The effectiveness of marketing depends on the microeconomic environment. Chapter two underscores the dynamics of micro and microenvironment in determining marketing decisions (Foundations of Marketing p.30). Marketing managers constantly monitor the external environment to watch the changing trends in the market, consumer behavior dynamics, and competition. Screening the microenvironment allows the company to make decisions that would react to emerging threats and opportunities in the economic, social, and cultural market environment (Lecture Notes on Marketing Plan p. 1). For this reason, the environment of the firm and the industry shape the marketing functions. The company tends to increase its market share by identifying, targeting, and positioning itself using appropriate persuasion and marketing strategies (Foundations of Marketing p.31). The company, therefore, needs to allocate its resources towards marketing activities. Some of these activities include social media marketing, branding, market data analytics, and other sales support tools. A market mindset allows the company to create a culture that commits to delivering value to the consumers. As a result, it creates marketing orientation.
Chapter three explores the role of ethics in marketing. In the daily marketing practice, managers face ethical issues that touch on avoiding regulations and ignoring social responsibilities (Foundations of Marketing, p.59).). Abiding by the existing marketing regulations and ethical principles helps marketers to develop a customer base. Persuasion and implementing other marketing activities create room for moral issues. The chapter examines the environment in which ethical issues arise when developing marketing materials. All marketing activities need to reflect the legal aspects that impact agencies that regulate marketing. The regulatory agencies play an essential role in streamlining the conduct of firms in their marketing practice. Companies need to act professionally and confine themselves in a legal environment. As a result, companies that embrace ethical marketing tend to work in a corporate socially responsible.
Chapter four discusses elements of consumer behavior. Marketing operates on the model of influencing consumer behaviors. Different psychological and social influences determine how the company develops effective strategies (Foundations of Marketing, p.93). All these characterize the consumer behavior model and shape the variations in consumer decision-making. A practical marketing approach tends to dominate consumers’ life by influencing their product evaluation and purchase decisions. The chapter provides insights into the strategies that marketers use to tailor their marketing activities that reflect consumers’ attitudes, beliefs, lifestyle, and personality (Lecture Notes on Consumer behavior p.2). The general marketing approach is to engage actions that will attract new customers and retail the existing ones. For this reason, the marketer must focus on the marketing goals to develop an effective marketing strategy.
Work Cited
Lecture Notes on Marketing Plan.
Lecture Notes on Consumer Behavior.
Foundations of Marketing. Chapters 1-4