The marketing (one uses also sometimes the neologism French mercatic ) is a discipline who seeks to determine the offers of goods and services according to the attitudes of the Consommateur S and to support their marketing. It comprises a whole of methods and means available to an organization to adapt to public in which it is interested, and to use, cause, of the behaviors favorable to the realization of its own objectives.

History

Marketing, as an adaptation of the production and the distribution of the goods by taking of account the psychological factors which explain either the purchase of a product, or its regulation, or its rejection, is born in reaction with the traditional economic thinking which, the 19th century, was unable to solve the problems caused by the rapid growth of the economy in particular in Germany and with the the United States.

The first concepts appear at the 17th century and 18th century in France and with the the United Kingdom, but the true birth is after the Crise of 1929 in particular in the United States.

The step of marketing indeed started with the search for a science of the distribution in order to optimize the sales, initially in the sector of the agricultural economics at the beginning of the XXe century, then in the more general economy during the period of the crisis of 1929 (Cochoy, 1999, p. 135). It is in the tread of the New Deal that was born the American marketing association and the Journal off marketing . The advertizing activity had experienced an earlier development. The large industrialists have, at the beginning of the century, conceived the project to support mentality consumerist corresponding to the industrial device of mass little adapted to more individualized needs (Ewen, 1983, p. 67). But the rationalization of such a step was only at its beginnings and it missed integration with the general process of the market which marketing will bring to him. In same time, other disciplines sought to engage paid and owners in the same effort of productivity but also of adaptation to the outlets. (Bernard Floris - Communication and management symbolic system in marketing - April 2001)

Alderson formalizes in 1957 marketing.

The definition of Kotler: “Marketing is the whole of the techniques and application studies the purpose of which are to envisage, to cause, renew or stimulate the needs of the consumers and to adapt in a continuous way the productive apparatus and commercial to the needs thus determined. ”

This definition, for globalisante that it is, does not refer however to the recent extensions of marketing (social marketing in particular) and privileges the managerial approach, as well as the thought of the school of the " marketing-mix" , whose Philip Kotler is the most famous representative.

Many other schools of thought of marketing were distinguished from this approach during the thirty last years, in particular the school of consuming research (represented by Morris B. Holbrook, in particular), the postmodern school (Stephen Brown), or the school of modeling (DeSarbo), even of the exchange (Bagozzi).

Recently the alternative course of the Cultural Theory of the Consumer appeared (To consume Theory Culture). This current, very active since 2005 in the influential Newspaper off To consume Research, aims “at investiguer expérientielles, social and cultural dimensions of consumption in its context” (Arnould, Thompson, 2005). The step is not positivist but interpretativist. The approach positivist aims at establishing then to empirically validate the universal laws most objective possible. The approach interpretativist leaves room to the experiment of the individual. Each cultural group defines for its relations of the directions and the symbolic systems different which it is advisable to interpret. One finds the source and the methods of investigations of this step in the sociologists Jean Baudrillard and Pierre Bourdieu. Marketing must be based on a cultural base and to have for aiming the establishment of social links, and not only the analysis of the Western liberal economy articulating itself on the reason materialist.

Far from the caricature generally accepted by the general public, marketing represents a intellectual movement rich in controversies and schools of thought which continue to develop.

Definition

" Marketing is the effort of adaptation of the organizations to competitive markets, to influence in their favor the behavior of their public, by an offer whose perceived value is durably higher than that of the concurrents" ( Mercator , 8th edition, 2006).

Marketing is the business of the organizations (which they are commercial or not, like associations). He seeks to adapt the policy of these organizations to a changing environment by nature. He basically has a role of influence and persuasion (what leads its criticisms to see only handling and propaganda there), the public ones being able to be very varied (consuming, undertaken customer, public authorities, voters…). Finally this definition underlines two important components of the contemporary approach of marketing: the concept of perceived value and that of relation in the duration (relational Marketing and not only compromise).

In the commercial sector, marketing is used for defining, conceiving and promoting profitably in a competing context of the products adapted permanently to the needs and waitings of the targeted solvent customers and to the constraints of the environment, and developing a durable commercial relation with these customers.

One seeks to increase the notoriety of the product, to develop the intention of purchase and with fidéliser to the maximum the customer. The product which can be a good or a service. The sales of goods moreover are surrounded more and more by services which increase the added-value, therefore the final selling price.

One will design the product (prototypes, preproductions) or the service for that, to study the various constraints (economic, technological, legal, institutional, competing). This step is related to that of the Innovation - product, with a weight growing of qualitative research.

In the case of satisfaction of nonsolvent needs, one can regard this Marketing approach as publicity necessary to the creation of a wallet of new customers: the product/service is free at the beginning, but becomes then paying.

" marketing is a design of the marketing policy which leaves the principle that the fundamental function of the companies consists to create customers and to preserve it, and which makes it possible the companies to exploit to the maximum all the resources of which they lay out " (Lewitt)

It is necessary to keep at the head that marketing is at the same time a spirit or a knowledge of the market and a tool or a whole for methods of study of the market.

The study of the behavior of the consumer

The techniques of marketing are based on the study of the behavior of the consumer. Multi-field tools are complementary in order to form a strong foundation, empirically reliable. Psychology, sociology and the microeconomy form a triangle in interrelationship. The theoretical validity of the concepts used imports less than the validity of their prediction on the ground. The psychology of marketing is multiform.

The most prestigious publications of this field (the Journal off To consume Research in particular) are defined in general as interdisciplinary publications, and the articles that one finds there are used often basic with other research as pure social sciences.

It seems that currently one of the subjects more to the point is the study of unconscious phenomena modifying the Humeur and emotions. The factors which control the formation of a intention in the consumer are the subject many studies.

Without forgetting the fact that with the arrival of Internet one works directly on the total population and less on panels. However, the sampling error must be narrowly supervised, indeed, the population follower of Internet is not representative in many studies.

Strategic marketing

Strategic marketing is the step of analysis and reflection to carry out the supply-demand adequacy. It is about a work of long run.

The actions of strategic marketing can be divided into three categories, presented conceptually like phases successive, but not inevitably consecutive in practice (there are often overlappings or flashbacks).

First of all, there are the actions of Segmentation. It is a question of identifying on the market of the groups of consumers having same waitings with respect to the product and in front of thus reacting in the same manner to the same stimulation marketing. The quality of a segmentation is judged with the one of various criteria: homogeneity of the defined segments, heterogeneity between segments, their stability, their mesurability, their accessibility and their size (of the too small segments are unusable because nonprofitable). Various methods of segmentation can be used in a nonexclusive way. Let us quote the geographical segmentation, the demographic segmentation (according to the sex, the age, the categories of incomes or socio-professional…), the segmentation Psychographique (according to the values, the attitudes) and the behavioral segmentation (mode of use of the product, frequency of use of the product).

Then, there are the actions of Ciblage. It acts, among the segments defined at the preceding stage to choose some one or more that the company will try to satisfy. The choice is done by holding account after an analysis interns (capacities of the company: human and financial means, brand image) and an external analysis (resources required by each segment, profitability of each segment, forces competition, legislation…). It is acted in fact of an analysis SWOT.

Finally the Positionnement comes. The products of the company must be conceived according to the segments of which it aims at satisfying waitings.

One also speaks about the 4 P strategic, in reference to the 4 P of operational marketing (see low): probing , partition , prioritize , positionning .

Operational marketing

Operations of ground and periodic plan

Operational marketing is the concretization on the ground of the decisions of orientation made on the level of strategic marketing. It is a policy of short term, which must be constantly adapted to the variations of the market situation.

The intermediate stage between the action of ground, which must adapt permanently, and the strategy marketing, which relates to the general orientations, is the establishment of an action plan, called Plan marketing, for a given period (one year for example). This plan must be coherent with:

  • plans concerning the other fields of action of the Undertaken (Research - development, Production, Finance, human resources, Computing system, etc)
  • and the general policy of the company.

Principal fields of the operational action (marketing mix)

That is done through four elements, that one calls marketing mix , plan of marchéage or four P of operational marketing. This concept was introduced in 1960 by Jerome McCarty. It is about:
  • the produced ( product )
  • the Price ( price )
  • the distribution ( place )
  • the communication ( promotion )

Today, one sees appearing the 5C:

  • Company (Company): Product range - Image within the market - Technology - culture of the company - objectives.
  • Customers (Customers) : size of the market and its growth - segments of the market - information sources on the customer - seasonal factors - process of purchase (by impulse or prudence).
  • Competitors (Competitors) : Direct, indirect - market shares - forces and weaknesses of the competitors.
  • Collaborators (Collaborators) : distributers - suppliers - retailers, etc
  • Context (Context) : factors of macro environment.

The product or product mix

See also: Produced (marketing)

The product does not limit to the product itself, it includes the following elements:

  • packing, conditioning, * design, * the standards which it respects, * labels, * the mark, * the life cycle of the product, * range,…

The price

The price (for the customer) can be considering simultaneously as the sum of the Coût S, of the Marge of the salesman and the various Taxe S or like the amount which a customer is ready to pay for this product; psychological price, it acts of the optimal price of acceptance (according to the theories of the Austrian school). The request is generally elastic: the number of purchases evolves/moves compared to the trend of the price.

If the price increases, the demand falls and conversely. Consequently, various price policies are possible, such as for example the policy of creaming, which seeks to sell less products, but expensive, and thus thus to release a greater benefit.

The price can also be seen in a qualitative way (fixed-variable), in a dynamic way (political of balance) or relational (policy of development of consumer loyalty).

A great ignorance of the purchasers is to be announced in the service sector : the price of the services is generally underestimated compared to the prices of the products. From where importance of a marketing much teaching and thus more expensive for this sector.

However, of many legislations prohibit the sales at a loss (in particular in Belgium or France, since 1997 and the law Galland).

The distribution

Various forms of distribution

  • Producing

  • Broker
  • Wholesaler or Purchasing group
  • Local wholesale dealer
  • Retailer (GMS - Great and Average Surfaces, GSS - Specialized Large surfaces, Department stores)
  • VPC - remote Mail-order selling or Sale (V.A.D.)
  • Frankness
  • FDV - Sales force: the commercial ones which moves sometimes to go in contact with the customers

Channel : vertical succession of intermediaries, the sum of the channels constituting a circuit

Network : circuit and individuals animating it

The communication

  • Communication mass media :

    • TV
    • Press
    • Posting
    • Cinema
    • Radio
    • Internet and the whole of on-line supports of diffusion

  • Communication except media :

    • PLV (Publicity on the place of sale)
    • institutional Communication
    • Technical Tee-shirts
    • of Direct Marketing:
      • coupons added in the sendings of large companies of remote sale (V.A.D.)
      • personalized Mails grouped in BtoB or BtoC
      • E-mail
      • Contact by telephone, Centers of telephone calls/receptions
      • Contact by fax
      • SMS and ms
    • Public relations :
      • nonadvertizing Message (of informational type) intended for the general public via mass media
      • Organization event-driven (launching of product/service)
      • To benefit from a cultural event
    • Sales promotion :
      • One seeks to increase to a significant degree the Turnover over one given period. Several techniques for that: free premiums, plays, price drops, tests, tasting or samples, animation…

  • Sales forces :

    • direct Information via the commercial ones in visits among customers

Techniques of research in marketing

It is about the unit of the methods which make it possible to collect information making it possible to better know and the coveted target and the environment (legal, political, social, regulatory, economic, cultural…) of this target. This will make it possible to adapt the methods of operational and strategic marketing consequently.

There exist several techniques allowing the realization of studies marketing, however all rest on the same step: - problems analyze - target analyzes - development of the schedule of conditions - installation of the action - collection of information - data processing - analyzes information - recommendations

Principle of the adequacy produced - customer

Marketing includes all the life cycle of a product or a service:

  • its creation (market research, Design, R & D),
  • its manufacture (process, Quality control,…),
  • its marketing (standard of distribution, means of communication, study of satisfaction, Margin released, final price),
  • and its lifespan.

In other words, the service marketing of a company will have to take into account a maximum of parameters on the Marché of the product or the service to be sold, this in order to set up a Sales strategy for the company.

This strategy aims at putting the company concerned in adequacy with the implicit or explicit requirements of the market on which it acts.

The bases of this strategy are to discover the needs for the potential consumers and to define the products and services. The policy of communication, the Publicity, the promotion and the organization of the Vente of the products are as for them only the most visible part of marketing near the general public.

Particular or specific marketing

Beside “Marketing”, general and abstract concept, there exists a great number of particular marketing - banking marketing, marketing B. - specific to-B., etc and of marketing - marketing of combat, side marketing, etc

Marketing of combat and marketing warlike

They are marketing using either methodologies of staff, or the principles of the art of the war, or the military metaphor to renew traditional marketing by stressing competition.

See also: Marketing of combat

Viral marketing

Viral marketing is a form of publicity where the consumer him even contributes to the diffusion of this publicity. It is the principle of the word of mount, but through networks larger: Internet in general, the Blogs and the Broadcast S of emails in particular, contribute for example to this type of mode of diffusion.

See also: viral Marketing

The Campus marketing

The Campus marketing is the whole of the actions marketing carried out on the Campus. One often speaks about Campus Marketing for all the actions targeting the students of higher education and being held in the universities and universities.

Marketing RH

See also: Marketing RH

Marketing RH consists in developing the image employer of a company or a structure public in parallel and coherence with its identity and its commercial communication. It is spread on the whole of the media and except media. The rarefaction of the talents on certain functions generates actions of increasingly pointed communication RH.

Critical marketing

Certain authors take a critical turn in their appreciation of the concepts and traditional techniques of marketing (in particular of marketing management). For example, critical Gilles Marion the idea according to which marketing would be necessary to the creation of Added-value (in Baker, 1993). Its argument rests, in fine , on the history of country like the the United Kingdom during the 19th century, or the Germany and the Japan in second half of the 20th century. In these three cases, the fact that the elites were not that seldom formed with the techniques of marketing did not prevent the saving in these countries from knowing a spectacular growth. The criticism of Marion also extends to the new concepts, such as the relational Marketing: Marion makes the point that the opposition between the Transaction and the Relation, at the base of relational marketing, is primarily formal, the transaction being necessarily enchased, as an microphone-event, within a relation.

Modes of implementation

See too

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