Marketing is the process of selling and advertising a product/service for developing the interest of the consumer in that product. It engulfs all the aspects of business, i.e., product development, distribution methods, sales, and advertising. The concept of marketing originates from: • Needs: The essentials for living a healthy life without which survival is not possible. • Wants: The things that are desired or wished for but is not something without which survival is not possible. • Demands: When the consumer can pay for his wants and needs it becomes the demand. The marketing research for the new product development revolves around identifying the customer’s unmet needs and finding feasible solutions to satisfy them. The four Ps of marketing that marketers use to bring the product to the market are: • Product: The product element comprises of product design, product innovation, labeling, branding, and packaging. • Place: The distribution channels used for the sale of the product so that it is accessible for the customers. • Price: The price is mainly the cost that a customer pays to get a particular product. • Promotion: It includes all the aspects of marketing communications and the advertising of the product so that it reaches the maximum number of people.
The primary objective of marketing is to create, maintain and satisfy the customers by anticipating their needs and satisfying it better than the competitors. It is different from selling as selling is about convincing a customer to exchange cash in return for a product while marketing is about identifying the customer’s needs and fulfilling it.