Societal Marketing Concept free essay sample

The four concepts which organizations use to design their marketing strategies (product concept, production concept, selling concept, and societal marketing concept) are important because they serve as a guide for businesses to plan and carry out their marketing and selling efforts. The production concept is the oldest of the concepts in business. It proposes that customers prefer products that are cheap and widely available. rganizations that focus on this concept are likely to concentrate on achieving high production efficiency, low costs and mass distribution, sticking to the belief that consumers are primarily interested in product availability and low prices. This concept does make sense in certain developing countries, such as Africa or Indonesia, where consumers are more interested in obtaining the product instead of its special features. The production concept as described above will not do well in first world countries such as the United States. The standard of living in such countries is much higher, and as a result, consumers may go for higher quality or special features, which render the production concept outdated. We will write a custom essay sample on Societal Marketing Concept or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is where the product concept comes in. The product concept puts forth the belief that consumers will favor products which promotes the best quality, performance and innovative functions. Organizations which adopt this concept might concentrate on developing their existing products and improving them over time. This is based on the assumption that consumers admire well-made products and are able to appreciate the quality and performance provided. However, it is dangerous in some cases where managers who hold fast to this belief get so caught up in improving the existing product that they forget what the market needs. This will lead to the organization not being able to satisfy consumers wants and needs. If applied correctly, this concept is likely to do well in countries with a higher standard of living like Japan and the United Kingdom. Another common business concept is the selling concept, which holds that consumers will not buy enough of the selling companys products if left alone. As a result, the selling organization must take an aggressive selling and promotion effort. Organizations that hold to this concept are likely to have the aim of selling what products they have instead of selling the products the market wants. This is achieved by using selling and promotional tools to stimulate more buying. This concept would be useful when companies are facing vercapacity. The societal marketing concept is one that challenges the selling concept. It puts forth that the organizations true task is to determine the wants, needs and interests of the target markets and to deliver these desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than its competitors. Besides that, it holds that all this must be done in a way that preserves or enhances the consumers and societys well-being. However, this does prove to be somewhat contradictory in some situations. For example, a fast food chain provides hamburgers which are tasty, yet unhealthy. The foods fat content hurt the consumers health, while all the packaging can lead to environmental damage. This fast food chain is indeed satisfying the markets want for good, fast food, but yet is going against the societal marketing concept of maintaining societys well-being. These concepts, as we can see, apply to different kinds of situations. It therefore depends on the organizations management to choose and apply the concepts wisely in order to maximize profit and efficiency.