Abstract

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. The marketing concept is the philosophy that a firm must analyze the needs and wants of the customers and then make decisions to satisfy those needs, while maintaining a legal, just and ethical competition in the market. However, this was not the approach traditionally followed by the firms prior to the emergence of this concept in the mainstream market. Marketing Concept has evolved from the production and sales concept. Production concept stated that the firm must focus on the manufacturing of the product and if the product was profitable, it would sell itself without any external push. It stressed on the need to make the product, rather than the demand. Whereas, the sales concept which emerged around 1930s due to mass production which left little room for unfulfilled demand, promoted the thought where a product was produced, and subsequently, through advertisements and personal selling, the customer was convinced into buying the product. Sales concept, though, did not focus on whether there was an actual need of the product and neither did the production concept. In contrast, the contemporary marketing concept underscores the importance of analyzing and fulfilling customer needs while ensuring ethical practices and fair competition. This evolution reflects a significant change in how firms approach the creation, communication, delivery, and exchange of value in the market.

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