UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING
What is Marketing?
Marketing is a social and managerial process where individuals and organizations obtain
what they need and want by creating and exchanging products and services of value. It is
not only about selling or advertising but about understanding customer needs and
delivering satisfaction.
Basic Concepts of Marketing
• Need → Basic requirement essential for survival (food, clothing, shelter).
• Want → A need shaped by culture, personality, and lifestyle (e.g. food → pizza,
biryani).
• Demand → Wants backed with purchasing power and willingness to pay.
• Market Offering → Anything (product, service, idea, experience) offered to satisfy
needs/wants.
• Product vs. Service →
- Product = Tangible, physical item.
- Service = Intangible action/experience (like a haircut or courier).
• Customer Value → The difference between benefits received and the costs paid
(money, time, effort).
• Customer Satisfaction → When a product meets or exceeds expectations.
• Exchange Process → Getting something by offering something in return (money for
goods).
• Relationship Marketing → Building long-term trust and loyalty with customers,
suppliers, and partners.
Importance of Marketing
• For Business/Marketers: Creates demand, increases sales, builds brand image,
helps survive competition.
• For Customers: Provides variety, quality, convenience, and information.
• For Society: Generates jobs, raises living standards, ensures responsible business
practices.
Scope of Marketing
Goes beyond just goods — covers services, experiences, events, people, places,
organizations, properties, ideas, and information.
Evolution of Marketing Philosophies
1. Production Concept → Focus on producing more at low cost; assumes customers
want affordable, available products.
2. Product Concept → Focus on product quality, features, and innovation.
3. Selling Concept → Aggressive selling and promotion to push sales.
4. Marketing Concept → Customer-oriented; find needs first, then make product.
5. Societal Concept → Balance profit, customer satisfaction, and society’s welfare.
6. Relationship Marketing → Focus on long-term customer loyalty, not one-time
sales.
Marketing vs Selling
Marketing Selling
Starts with customer needs Starts with company product
Focus: long-term satisfaction Focus: short-term sales
Builds relationships Pushes product
Broad concept (4Ps, customer Narrow concept (just selling,
value) promotion)
UNIT 2: MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
Meaning
Marketing environment = All internal and external forces that affect a company’s ability to
serve customers effectively.
Types of Environment
1. Internal Environment
a. Factors within the organization: employees, company policies, culture,
finances.
2. Micro Environment (close to the business)
a. Suppliers
b. Marketing intermediaries (wholesalers, retailers, agents)
c. Customers (individuals, businesses, government, international)
d. Competitors
e. Publics (media, pressure groups, local communities)
3. Macro Environment (broad forces)
a. Economic → income, inflation, employment, recession.
b. Demographic → population, age groups, gender mix.
c. Political-Legal → government rules, policies, regulations.
d. Technological → innovations, e-commerce, automation.
e. Social-Cultural → values, traditions, lifestyles.
Impact on Marketing
• Changes in law → companies must adapt (e.g., health warnings on cigarettes).
• Economic recession → lower purchasing power, so firms cut prices.
• Technology → online shopping, digital marketing.
Response to Environment
• Environmental Scanning → continuously collecting info.
• SWOT Analysis → identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.
• Proactive Strategy → adapting and innovating before competitors.
UNIT 3: SEGMENTATION, TARGETING & POSITIONING
(STP)
Market Segmentation
Definition: Dividing the market into groups of buyers with distinct needs, traits, or
behaviors.
Bases of Segmentation:
1. Geographic → nation, state, city, rural/urban, climate.
2. Demographic → age, gender, income, education, occupation, family size.
3. Psychographic → lifestyle, social class, personality.
4. Behavioral → usage rate (heavy/light), benefits sought, brand loyalty, occasions.
Conditions for Effective Segmentation: Must be measurable, accessible, substantial,
differentiable, actionable.
Market Targeting
After segmentation, the firm decides which segments to serve.
Strategies:
• Undifferentiated (Mass Marketing) → one product for everyone.
• Differentiated (Segmented Marketing) → different offers for different groups.
• Concentrated (Niche Marketing) → focus on one small segment.
• Micromarketing → tailoring products for individuals or local areas.
Positioning
Definition: Designing the company’s product so it has a distinct image in the consumer’s
mind compared to competitors.
Steps in Positioning:
1. Identify competitors.
2. Find points of parity (similarities) and points of difference (unique benefits).
3. Choose the most attractive positioning strategy.
4. Communicate this image through consistent branding and promotion.
Tool: Perceptual Map → a chart showing how customers see brands on key features (e.g.,
price vs quality).
UNIT 5: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Meaning
Consumer behaviour is the study of how people select, buy, use, and dispose of products,
services, ideas to satisfy their needs and wants.
Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour
1. Cultural Factors → culture, sub-culture, social class.
2. Social Factors → reference groups (friends, peers), family, roles, status.
3. Personal Factors → age, job, income, lifestyle, personality, life-cycle stage.
4. Psychological Factors → motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, attitudes.
Consumer Decision-Making Process
1. Need Recognition → realizing a problem or want.
2. Information Search → looking for details about products (ads, friends, internet).
3. Evaluation of Alternatives → comparing brands.
4. Purchase Decision → choosing and buying.
5. Post-Purchase Behaviour → satisfaction, dissatisfaction, repeat purchase, or
regret.
Diffusion of Innovation
When new products spread in the market, customers adopt them at different speeds:
• Innovators → first to try.
• Early Adopters → opinion leaders, influence others.
• Early Majority → cautious but adopt before average.
• Late Majority → skeptical, adopt after most people.
• Laggards → last to adopt, traditional, resistant.
Factors Affecting Adoption:
• Relative Advantage (better than old option)
• Compatibility (fits lifestyle)
• Complexity (easy or hard to use)
• Trialability (can be tested)
• Observability (visible benefits to others)
• Unit 1: Introduction to Marketing
• Marketing → Process of creating & exchanging value.
• Need = basic survival | Want = shaped by culture | Demand = want + money.
• Product = tangible | Service = intangible.
• Customer Value = Benefits − Costs.
• Customer Satisfaction = Experience − Expectation.
• Exchange = give something to get something.
• Relationship Marketing = long-term loyalty.
• Importance →
• Business: sales, profit, goodwill.
• Customers: choice, value, utility.
• Society: jobs, CSR, welfare.
• Philosophies →
• Production | Product | Selling | Marketing | Societal | Relationship.
• Marketing vs Selling →
• Marketing = needs, long-term, before production.
• Selling = product, short-term, after production.
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• Unit 2: Marketing Environment
• Internal → employees, policies, resources.
• Micro → suppliers, customers, competitors, intermediaries, publics.
• Macro → economic, demographic, political, technological, socio-cultural.
• Response → scanning, SWOT, proactive strategy.
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• Unit 3: STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)
• Segmentation Bases →
• Geographic | Demographic | Psychographic | Behavioural.
• Effective Segmentation → measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable,
actionable.
• Targeting Strategies →
• Mass (undifferentiated)
• Differentiated
• Niche (concentrated)
• Micromarketing (local/individual)
• Positioning → create unique place in consumer mind.
• Steps → identify competitors → parity vs difference → choose strategy →
communicate.
• Tool → Perceptual Map.
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• Unit 5: Consumer Behaviour
• Definition → study of how people buy & use products.
• Factors →
• Cultural (culture, class)
• Social (family, groups)
• Personal (age, job, income, lifestyle)
• Psychological (motivation, perception, beliefs, learning).
• Decision Process →
• Need recognition
• Info search
• Evaluation
• Purchase
• Post-purchase
• Adopter Categories → innovators → early adopters → early majority → late majority →
laggards.
• Adoption Factors → advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability.
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