“Marketing is the management process involved in identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably”.  It isn't just the four Ps.  There are many features of marketing:

• Consumers are of vital importance, therefore firms should try and meet their needs.  Market research is often used for this purpose.

• Marketing is a process, it is ongoing rather than having a start and a finish.  The marketing model can show this process:

• Relationship marketing involves building up relationships with customers.  Hopefully customers will develop a favourable view of the business and buy their products over time.

• Marketing as a business philosophy, where firms aim to cater for all consumers needs, e.g., play areas for children.

• Marketing isn’t simply about selling, firms must undertake market research, design and test the product on consumers.

Product and Market Orientation

Many businesses are product orientated.  This means they design and market a product and then try to convince consumers to buy it, e.g., drug companies like Glaxo will develop a product to consumers with an illness and then they market it.

Firms place the emphasis on producing a technically sound product, producing it and selling it.  The only contact with customers comes at the final stage.

Businesses can also be market orientated.  This is where companies try to find out what consumers like before designing a product, e.g., Pepsi Max was designed to suit the needs of the consumers.

Just because firms are market orientated doesn’t guarantee success and profits.  There is a chance that people still won’t like the good or service or they will continue to buy from competitors.

Asset-Based Marketing

Firms have been recently using an asset based approach to marketing, where the business develops those goods or services that make the best use of major strength.  This means concentrating on what the business is good at, however thy still need to take into account what the market wants.  Businesses have attempted to produce new products that are related to successful existing products, e.g., Mars Bar ice-creams.