It is obvious that the marketing concept represents a radically new approach to business and is the most advanced of all

ideas on marketing that have emerged through the years. Only the marketing concept is capable of keeping the organisation free from marketing myopia. The salient features of the marketing concept are: 1 " # $ !onsumer orientation Integrated marketing !onsumer satisfaction %eali&ation of organi&ational goals.

1. !onsumer Orientation The most distinguishing feature of the marketing concept is the importance assigned to the consumer. The determination of what is to be produced should not be in the hands of the firms but in the hands of the consumers. The firms should produce what consumers want. 'll activities of the marketer such as identifying needs and wants( developing appropriate products and pricing( distributing and promoting then should be consumer oriented. If these things are done effectively( products will be automatically bought by the consumers. ". Integrated )arketing The second feature of the marketing concept is integrated marketing i.e. integrated management action. )arketing can never be an isolated management function. *very activity on the marketing side will have some bearing on the other functional areas of management such as production( personnel or finance. +imilarly any action in a particular area of operation in production on finance will certainly have an impact on marketing and ultimately in consumer. Therefore( in an integrated marketing set,up( the various functional areas of management get integrated with the marketing function. Integrated marketing presupposes a proper communication among the different management areas( with marketing influencing the corporate decision making process. Thus( when the firms ob-ective is to make profit . by providing

consumer satisfaction( naturally it follows that the different departments of he company are fairly integrated with each other and their efforts are channeli&ed through the principal marketing department towards the ob-ectives of consumer satisfaction.

#. !onsumer +atisfaction Third feature of the marketing is consumer satisfaction. The marketing concept emphasi&es that it is not enough if a firm ahs consumer orientation/ it is essential that such an orientation leads to consumer satisfaction. 0or e1ample( when a consumer buys a tin of coffee( he e1pects a purpose to be served( a need to be satisfied. If the coffee does not provide him the e1pected fiavour( the taste and the refreshments his purchase has not served the purpose/ or more precisely( the marketer who sold the coffee has failed to satisfy his consumer. Thus( satisfaction is the proper foundation on which alone any business can build its future.

$. %eali&ation of Organi&ational 2oals including 3rofit If a firm has succeeded in generating consumer satisfaction( is implies that the firm has given a 4uality product( offered competitive price and prompt service and has succeeded in creating good image. It is 4uite obvious that for achieving these results( the firm would have tried its ma1imum to control costs and simultaneously ensure 4uality( optimi&e productivity and maintain a good organi&ational climate. 'nd in this process( the organi&ational goals including profit are automatically reali&ed. The marketing concept never suggests that profit is unimportant to the firm. The concept is against profiteering only( but not against profits.

Benefits of Marketing Concept The concept benefits the organisation that practices it( the consumer at whom it is aimed and the society at the society at large.

1. Benefits to the organisation: In the first place( of the practice of the concept brings substantial benefits to the organisation that practices it. 0or e1ample( the concept enable the organisation to keep abreast of changes. 'n organisatoin pr5cising the concept keeps feeling the pulse of the market through continuous marketing audit( market research and consumer testing. It is 4uick to respond to changes in buyer behaviour( it rectifies any drawback in its these products( it gives great importance to planning( research and innovation. 'll these response( in the long run( prove e1tremely beneficial to the firm. 'nother ma-or benefits is that profits become more and certain( as it is no longer obtained at the cost of the consumer but only through satisfying him. The base of consumer satisfaction guarantees long . term financial success. ". Benefits to Consumers: The consumers are in fact the ma-or beneficiary of the marketing concept. The attempts of various competing firms to satisfy the consumer put him an enviable position. The concept prompts to produces to constantly improve their products and to launch new products. 'll these results in benefits to the consumer such as: low price( better 4uality( improved6new products and ready stock at convenient locations. The consumer can choose( he can bargain( he can complain and his complaint will also be attended to. 7e can even return the goods if not satisfied. In short( when organi&ations adopt marketing concept( as natural corollary( their business practices change in favour of the consumer. #. Benefits to the society: The benefit from the marketing concept is not limited to the individual consumer of products. 8hen more and more organi&ations resort to the marketing concept( the society in Toto benefits. The concept guarantees that only products that are re4uired by the consumers are produced/ thereby it ensures that the societys economic resources are channeli&ed in the right direction. It also creates entrepreneurs and managers in the given society. )oreover( it acts as a change agent and a value adder/ improves the standard of living of the people/ and accelerates the pace of economic development of the society as a whole. It also makes economic planning more meaningful and more relevant to the life of the people. In fact( the practice of consumer oriented marketing benefits society in yet another way by enabling business organi&ations to appreciate the societal content inherent in any business. 8hen the organisations move closer to the customers( they see clearly

the validity of the following observation of 9rucker( :The purpose of any business lies outside the business . in society.; 'nd this awareness of the societal content of business often enthuses organi&ations to make a notable contribution to the enrichment of society.

Societal Marketing concept <ow the 4uestion is whether the marketing concept is an appropriate organi&ational goal in an age of environmental deterioration( resource shortages( e1plosive population growth etc. and whether the firm is necessarily acting in the best long run interests of consumers and society. 0or e1ample( many modern disposable packing materials create problem of environmental degradation +ituations like this( call for a new concept( which is called +ocial )arketing !oncept. The societal marketing concept holds that the organi&ations task is to determine the needs( wants and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumers and the societys well being. ',few maga&ines such as =alki( 'nanda >ikadan( do not accept any advertisements for !igarettes or alcoholic li4uors though it is loss of revenue for them. This is a typical e1ample of societal marketing concept. The societal marketing concept calls upon marketers to balance three considerations in setting their marketing policies namely firms profits( consumer want satisfaction and society interest