Marketing is the process by which companies determine what products or services may

be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business
development.[1] It is an integrated process through which companies create value for
customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from
customers in return.[1]

Marketing is used to identify the customer, to keep the customer, and to satisfy the
customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that
marketing management is one of the major components of business management. The
evolution of marketing was caused due to mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-
3 centuries.[citation needed] Companies then shifted the focus from production to the customer
in order to stay profitable.[citation needed]

The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on
knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions.[2]
It proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, an organization should
anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than
competitors

Customer orientation

A firm in the market economy survives by producing goods that persons are willing and
able to buy. Consequently, ascertaining consumer demand is vital for a firm's future
viability and even existence as a going concern. Many companies today have a customer
focus (or market orientation). This implies that the company focuses its activities and
products on consumer demands. Generally there are three ways of doing this: the
customer-driven approach, the sense of identifying market changes and the product
innovation approach.

In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic
marketing decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer research.
Every aspect of a market offering, including the nature of the product itself, is driven by
the needs of potential consumers. The starting point is always the consumer. The
rationale for this approach is that there is no point spending R&D funds developing
products that people will not buy. History attests to many products that were commercial
failures in spite of being technological breakthroughs.[10]

A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SIVA[11] (Solution,

Information, Value, Access). This system is basically the four Ps renamed and reworded
to provide a customer focus. The SIVA Model provides a demand/customer centric
version alternative to the well-known 4Ps supply side model (product, price, placement,
promotion) of marketing management.
Product → Solution

Promotion → Information

Price → Value

Placement → Access

If any of the 4Ps had a problem or were not there in the marketing factor of the business,
the business could be in trouble and so other companies may appear in the surroundings
of the company, so the consumer demand on its products will become less.

Herd behavior

Herd behavior in marketing is used to explain the dependencies of customers' mutual

behavior. The Economist reported a recent conference in Rome on the subject of the
simulation of adaptive human behavior.[12] It shared mechanisms to increase impulse
buying and get people "to buy more by playing on the herd instinct." The basic idea is
that people will buy more of products that are seen to be popular, and several feedback
mechanisms to get product popularity information to consumers are mentioned, including
smart card technology and the use of Radio Frequency Identification Tag technology. A
"swarm-moves" model was introduced by a Florida Institute of Technology researcher,
which is appealing to supermarkets because it can "increase sales without the need to
give people discounts."

Other recent studies on the "power of social influence" include an "artificial music
market in which some 14,000 people downloaded previously unknown songs" (Columbia
University, New York); a Japanese chain of convenience stores which orders its products
based on "sales data from department stores and research companies;" a Massachusetts
company exploiting knowledge of social networking to improve sales; and online
retailers who are increasingly informing consumers about "which products are popular
with like-minded consumers" (e.g., Amazon, eBay).
Marketing strategy

The field of marketing strategy encompasses the strategy involved in the management of
a given product.

A given firm may hold numerous products in the marketplace, spanning numerous and
sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly, a plan is required in order to
manage effectively such products. Evidently, a company needs to weigh up and ascertain
how to utilize effectively its finite resources. As an example, a start-up car manufacturing
firm would face little success, should it attempt to rival immediately Toyota, Ford, Nissan
or any other large global car maker. Moreover, a product may be reaching the end of its
life-cycle. Thus, the issue of divest, or a ceasing of production may be made. With regard
to the aforesaid questions, each scenario requires a unique marketing strategy to be
employed

B2B and B2C.

With the large increase in consumer access to the Internet, B2C has experienced
tremendous growth over the past 20 or so years. Some examples of B2C on the Internet
would be purchasing airline or travel tickets/reservations, searching for information,
electronic shopping (electronic retailing), and purchasing services and/or downloads).
Some examples of some very popular B2C websites would be Ebay, Amazon, Overstock,
Expedia and Orbitz. Many large and small businesses alike have also created a large
online presence with B2C websites and services as well. For example you can book
airline trips online directly with Continental, you can purchase merchandise online
directly with WalMart, etc…

2.With B2B applications, these have generally been around much longer through private
networks and electronic Data Interchanges, also known as EDI. B2B applications are
designed to improve business relationships, productivity and efficiency between 2 or
more companies. Some examples of B2B applications online would be businesses
researching and providing product catalogs, ordering and sending of supplies, sending
and receiving invoices and payments, keeping track of products and usage, and helping to
control the logistics of supply and delivery, amongst many other things. An example of a
B2B application might be between Ford and Firestone. Ford builds cars and needs to deal
with a business to manufacture, buy, and ship all of its tires for all of its automobiles.
Thus, Ford and Firestone would have a B2B relationship.
Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such
as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer.
Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government
(B2G).

The volume of B2B transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions.
The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B
transactions involving subcomponent or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction,
specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile
manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens,
and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the
consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction

Business-to-consumer (B2C, sometimes also called Business-to-Customer) describes

activities of businesses serving end consumers with products and/or services.

An example of a B2C transaction would be a person buying a pair of shoes from a

retailer. The transactions that led to the shoes being available for purchase, that is the
purchase of the leather, laces, rubber, etc. as well as the sale of the shoe from the
shoemaker to the retailer would be considered (B2B) transactions

Marketing mix
The four main fields of the Marketing mix.

The term "marketing mix" was first used in 1953 when Neil Borden, in his American
Marketing Association presidential address, took the recipe idea one step further and
coined the term "marketing-mix". A prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed
a 4 P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. The four Ps concept is explained in
most marketing textbooks and classes.
Four Ps

Elements of the marketing mix are often referred to as 'the four Ps':

• Product - A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or

manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible products
are service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or codes-based
products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a mass produced
tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but
ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system. Packaging also
needs to be taken into consideration.
• Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined
by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs,
product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The business
may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same
product.
• Place – Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often
referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as
virtual stores on the Internet.
• Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the
marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations,
word of mouth and point of sale. A certain amount of crossover occurs when
promotion uses the four principal elements together, which is common in film
promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema
commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards.
Public relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes
press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs
and events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the
product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically
engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important
role in word of mouth and Public Relations (see Product above).
Today there are many approaches of Marketing mix enlargement. Just the 4 P can not
describe all possibilities and needs, a company has to deal with when thinking about itself
and the market. To fulfill all different point of views, markets and managerial studies,
there are still more P relevant. Some of them are:

• Packaging
• People
• Public Voice
• Pamper
• Politics
• Physical Evidence

Broadly defined, optimizing the marketing mix is the primary responsibility of

marketing. By offering the product with the right combination of the four Ps marketers
can improve their results and marketing effectiveness. Making small changes in the
marketing mix is typically considered to be a tactical change. Parm Bains says making
large changes in any of the four Ps can be considered strategic. For example, a large
change in the price, say from $19.00 to $39.00 would be considered a strategic change in
the position of the product. However a change of $130 to $129.99 would be considered a
tactical change, potentially related to a promotional offer.

The term 'marketing mix' however, does not imply that the 4P elements represent options.
They are not trade-offs but are fundamental marketing issues that always need to be
addressed. They are the fundamental actions that marketing requires whether determined
explicitly or by default.'

Four Cs （1）

A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing mix is known as Four Cs

(Commodity, Cost, Channel, Communication). Koichi Shimizu proposed a four Cs
classification in 1973.[1][2]

The four elements are:

1. Commodity: the product for the consumers or citizens. Not product out.
2. Cost: producing cost, selling cost, purchasing cost and social cost.
3. Channel: Flow of commodity : marketing channels.
4. Communication: marketing communication : It doesn't promote the sales.
The Four Cs can be compared to the Four Ps. This system is basically the four Ps[3]
renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus. The four Cs Model provides a
demand/customer centric version alternative to the well-known four Ps supply side model
(product, price, place, promotion) of marketing management. This is a part of 7Cs
Compass Model.

Four Cs （2）

Robert F. Lauterborn proposed a four Cs(2) classification in 1993.[4] The Four Cs model
is more consumer-oriented and attempts to better fit the movement from mass marketing
to niche marketing. The Product part of the Four Ps model is replaced by Consumer or
Consumer Models, shifting the focus to satisfying the consumer needs. Another C
replacement for Product is Capable. By defining offerings as individual capabilities that
when combined and focused to a specific industry, creates a custom solution rather than
pigeon-holing a customer into a product. Pricing is replaced by Cost reflecting the total
cost of ownership. Many factors affect Cost, including but not limited to the customer's
cost to change or implement the new product or service and the customer's cost for not
selecting a competitor's product or service. Placement is replaced by Convenience. With
the rise of internet and hybrid models of purchasing, Place is becoming less relevant.
Convenience takes into account the ease of buying the product, finding the product,
finding information about the product, and several other factors. Finally, the Promotions
feature is replaced by Communication which represents a broader focus than simply
Promotions. Communications can include advertising, public relations, personal selling,
viral advertising, and any form of communication between the firm and the consumer.

The Four Cs model has been criticized for simply being nothing more than the Four Ps
with different points of emphasis.[5] In particular, the Four Cs inclusion of customers in
the marketing mix is criticized, since customers are a target of marketing, while the other
elements of the marketing mix are tactics. The Four Cs also exclude numerous strategies
for product development, distribution, and pricing, while assuming that consumers want
two-way communications with companies