Introduction to the Phenomenon of Marketing - Research Paper Example

It is an activity by an organization that is focused on identifying and fulfilling customer needs as successfully as possible so that the organization can sustain its operations and survive in the marketplace.

The definitions as described above clearly state that marketing is a highly important function for any organization to survive and grow in the highly competitive global environment. Marketing decides what to produce and where to position and sell the product – which market segment to cater to or how to differentiate the product from the competition. Correct identification of all these tasks in the proper direction is of paramount importance that eventually makes the organization thrive with ever-increasing sales. 

It will be most appropriate to explore how the marketing function can turn the tides in the company’s favour so that the company is put on a high trajectory of growth with thumping profits.

Smith (2011) argues that some airlines increase their costs by 25 per cent just to get an additional 5 per cent of the market. It just does not make sense if profitability is one of the goals. Southwest Airlines continued with a strategy of low pricing for over 4 decades albeit with a focus on the target market and that concept always stayed with the company.  In a short distance travel, Southwest Airlines identified the customer needs as flexible and efficient travel, lesser time in boarding, timely service and of course, the affordable price. Southwest Airlines met the needs of its customers by removing meals, no preselecting of seats, no first-class travel, no booking through an agent. In short, it was a selection between satisfying every customer at a high cost or satisfying a vast majority at a low cost and Southwest Airlines smartly decided to choose the latter. Southwest continues with this philosophy even today. It operates with efficiency and without any extra frills when compared with competitors. At a low cost, it still makes a profit and continues to grow.

The Starbucks Coffee Company is one of the fastest-growing organizations and is worth mentioning for its prudent marketing strategies; especially, small businesses can learn a lot from the company. Starting with just one store about 30 years ago, currently, the company owns thousands of outlets in the US and abroad with total revenue exceeding $4 billion. Starbucks does not put ads in newspapers a billboard or a poster. They focus on product quality providing delicious taste and aroma. Customer satisfaction has been their main guiding principle and in keeping with that the company has added more flavours in their serving, high-speed wireless internet capability in their outlets and a pleasant environment. Their product and services speak for themselves through word-of-mouth publicity discarding any need for a high-level ad campaign.

Apple Inc. is a classic case of innovation and product development that firmly establishes the company as the most sought-after in the marketplace so far as its products are concerned. Apple came out with iPod, iTunes, iPhone and then the App Store. The iPod found the gap in the MP3 player market and promptly filled the gap to grab over 70 per cent market share; that is unprecedented in history. In the field of tablet computers, iPad’s market share is over 50 per cent – much ahead of its nearest rival Samsung which is languishing at a meagre 18 per cent market share. In the smartphone market, iPhone’s market share has risen by 10 percentage points to touch 33 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 when compared with a similar quarter last year. The point is that the company’s whole marketing strategy revolves around finding what the market needs and filling the gap where none of the available products in that particular class offers what the market aspires to. The high-profile innovation and product development program put the company far ahead of its competition and makes it the largest listed company in terms of market capitalization.

The above examples veritably establish the fact that marketing is the most crucial and important task for any organization; it can transform the company completely from a laggard to a leader as the world has seen in the case of Apple, Southwest Airlines and Starbucks. Companies that do not have a market perspective in their operations and offerings fail to maintain their market shares regardless of how big and how old they are.