Principles of Marketing

Marketing is a management process responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer needs profitably.
It serves as a link between a society’s material requirements and its economic responses.
The marketing concept emphasises delivering value and benefits to customers, not just selling goods.
The marketing process involves market research, target market identification, choosing a suitable marketing mix and implementing and controlling the marketing efforts.
Marketing objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Market research is the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination of information for decision-making in marketing.
Types of market research: primary research and secondary research.
Primary research (or field research) includes surveys, interviews, and focus groups. It is collected for the first time and is original data.
Secondary research (or desk research) involves data that already exists, for example, reports, census data, and academic articles.
Market research helps to identify customer needs, market trends, and competition, which informs business decisions and strategy.

The process of identifying different groups in a market, choosing the most attractive ones, and developing a marketing mix that appeals to them is known as Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP).
Market segmentation is dividing a market into distinct groups with unique characteristics or behaviours that require a separate marketing mix.
Common ways to segment a market include: demographic, geographic, psychographic (lifestyle), and behavioural segmentation.
Targeting is the process of selecting the segments to service based on factors like market size, growth, competition, company resources etc.
Positioning involves creating a distinctive image or perception in the minds of customers about the product or brand.

The marketing mix, also known as the 7Ps of marketing, includes: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical evidence.
Product: whatever you are marketing, including goods, services, or ideas. It includes product design, quality, branding etc.
Price: the amount the customer must exchange to receive the product.
Place: distribution channels used to allow customers to access the product.
Promotion: methods used to communicate the benefits of the product to the customer. Examples include advertising, PR, sales promotion etc.
People: all the individuals directly or indirectly involved in the consumption of a service.
Process: systems and processes involved in delivering a service.
Physical evidence: tangible parts that customers interact with, aiding their understanding of the product or service.

Digital marketing is a component of marketing that uses the internet and online based digital technologies to promote products or services.
Includes things like social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and email marketing.
Advantages of digital marketing include instant communication, flexibility, interactivity, and cost efficiency.
Online customer reviews and social media posts can influence other prospective customers’ buying decisions.

Ethical marketing refers to the application of marketing ethics into the marketing process.
Marketing professionals abide by the established professional ethics set by organisations like Advertising Standards Authority.
Ethical issues in marketing include false advertising, invasive advertising, using puffery, exploiting children etc. It’s crucial to respect consumer rights and maintain truthful, genuine advertising.