Marketing Concepts - Case Study Example

Marketing Concepts Name: Date: Affiliation: Marketing Concepts Marketing concepts are the unique approaches that the company uses to facilitate its success. These approaches are crucial in the implementation of goals, vision and mission of any given company. Some marketing concepts include production concept, product concept, selling concept, marketing concept and societal marketing. All these concepts are crucial foundations of marketing and various companies apply them in pursuit of success and efficiency. The article seeks to demonstrate how IKEA Corporation, Coca-Cola Corporation and Mac Donald’s restaurants have implemented the concepts to achieve the success they have today. Coca-cola is among the fortune five hundred companies having employed millions of employees all over the world. The company claimed its inception in 1886 because of satisfied curiosity from Atlanta pharmacist -Dr. John S. Pemberton. From the time, the company has been growing year after year and reaped big profits. It has effective marketing concepts that will mark the body of the article. Similarly, IKEA is also a multinational Corporation that has remarkably succeeded in the market. It claims inception in 1943 by a Swedish seventeen-year-old boy (Ingvar Kamprad).it deals with designing and assembling furniture. By 2008, it was the world’s best furniture retailer. The company embraces the key marketing concepts hence becoming among the best furniture companies in the world. The third company is Mc Donald’s restaurant that deals with fast foods. Richard and Maurice McDonald founded the restaurants in 1927, and they have turned out to be the best fast food companies in the world. They have key marketing concepts that have makes them the best in the industry. The idea of marketing concept has been evolving over a considerable long time. In the modern world, the customer is the king has made companies adopt marketing concepts that are customer oriented. However, others formulate concepts that are diverse to the success of the companies. First, production concept is among the concepts the companies have embraced to maximize marketing. The companies that argue from the perspective assert that if the goods and services are cheap, it is possible to avail them in many places hence eliminating problems related to the sale. These companies work towards reducing the cost of production and bringing it to a minimum level. Therefore, these companies will indulge in large-scale production to facilitate production of goods in surplus. When the company produces goods in large scale, it becomes possible to reduce the cost of production (Blythe, 2009).The essence of this philosophy appears when demand exceeds supply. However, it might be disadvantageous especially in cases where the customer does not buy the cheap goods. The product concept is the second category of marketing concept, and it seeks to emphasize on the quality of the product. The companies that operate under the philosophy posit that if the services and goods have high-quality standard, then it is obvious that customers will buy. The thinking focuses on the assumption that customers prefer quality goods. Therefore, for companies to facilitate and increase their market, they will increase the quality o their products. However, the assumption is erroneous since that is not the only parameter for determining the goods to buy. (Blythe, 2009) The third market concept is selling concept and asserts that assuming the customers will not help in increasing the market for particular products. Instead, selling of goods is crucial for buying to take place. The companies founded under the concept affirm that attracting and educating customers is paramount in facilitating quality market. It means that a company must sell what it produces (Blythe, 2006).This means that through repeated occurrences it is possible to sell anything to desiring customers. The concept is temporarily practical, and it is right for only a short time. Marketing concept is also a form under the big umbrella, and it asserts that customers’ satisfaction determines the success of the company. This philosophy asserts that a company should produce goods desired by customers. The company should not produce goods without knowledge of the customer tastes. In other words, it means that companies do not sell what they make; instead, they make what they can sell (Blythe, 2006). The companies that operate under the philosophy seek to satisfy the customers, and they direct all efforts to the latter. Adopting the philosophy means that profit flows to the company on long basis. Societal marketing concept is also a concept that stresses customer satisfaction and the welfare of the consumer. The concept goes a step further from marketing concept and asserts that mere satisfaction does not guarantee the welfare of the society. For a company that makes fuel-efficient vehicles that pollute the environment do not qualify to be in the market since it is not valuing the society. The companies operating under the concept seeks to satisfy the customers and at the same time guarding the society (Blythe, 2009). IKEA and the marketing concepts As posited above, IKEA is a multinational company started in 1943 by a Swedish boy. The company has embraced significant change and culture that have facilitated expansion to the current position. The marketing has been instrumental in ensuring that it has grasped share of the market both locally and internationally. Clients all over the world favors products from the company they have required quality, fair price and sustainable. These features originate from the marketing concepts hence affirming that they have played a significant role in developing the company (Dahlvig, 2012). First, the company utilizes the product concept by ensuring that products exhibit high quality. When products exhibit high quality, more customers will tend to buy them. Quality furniture will attract more clients through recommendation. For instance, when a family or couple buys piece of furniture from IKEA, they use it for the right purpose in the respective place. Other people who might visit the family will admire the furniture and through that creating a good reputation. The good reputation emanating from quality of the product will bring in more customers hence increasing the sales (M, C & Stockholm, 2009). Moreover, the furniture from IKEA is easy to transport since one can easily fix and unfix hence making less bulk. The quality of the furniture has contributed to larger orders both local and internally. For instance, most of the products produced by IKEA-Sweden are orders from overseas. Therefore, product concept has played a great role creating extensive market for the products. Underselling concept, the company has to sell what it makes. IKEA has embraced the concept through promotions, catalogues and advertising. The company has well spelt out catalogues that help the clients to know the varieties of products produced b the company. Following the promotions and advertisements, the company receives approximately 590 million visitors in the stores on the annual basis while the website records 450 million visitors annually. The main marketing channel for IKEA is a catalogue, and I have reached the world. Approximately 191 million copies are under distribution throughout the world. The catalogue has fifty-seven editions in twenty-seven languages hence making to possible to display the nine thousand five hundred (9500) different products produced by the company. Through the initiatives, the company has managed to sell most of the products with minimal surplus if any (M, C & Stockholm, 2009). The company embraces societal marketing concept through facilitating sustainability in the production of the fur nature. The company being furniture-oriented and it must facilitate conservation of forests. Therefore, the company works on forests that have certification of responsible management. The company has a code of conduct guiding the transaction between the company and the suppliers. The suppliers must work with the company because they must reduce the waste and air emissions, water and safe handling of chemicals (Dahlvig, 2012). The transportation of the furniture is sustainable in the sense that it reduces the emission emanating from ship engines. This is because the furniture is compatible making it possible to transport many pieces of furniture in a single container consequently reducing the cost and amount of emissions from the rail and ship engines (Dahlvig, 2012). Through, the approach the company has convinced the consumable that are sustainable hence increasing their sales in the end. Research indicates that the sustainability determines the number of clients who will the buy products. When products are sustainable enough, they will prompt many people to buy for customers love products that are promoting sustainability of the environment. Coca-cola and marketing concepts Coca-cola is among the largest companies in the world today, and it has invested millions of dollars in the world. The presence of Pepsi in the market makes the company come up with innovative strategies that will help the company overcome any possible competition. First, the company utilizes the production concept. The concept follows the principle of mass production. When goods are in mass, it becomes easy for such goods to be sold throughout the country hence making more profit. For instance, if the demand is high, it translates to escalated profits. Coca-cola Company takes advantage of people and produces soda in high quantities. Producing goods in large quantities’ reduces the cost of production and therefore increasing the chances of making profit (Hays, 2004). Coca-cola has created websites that allow the public to interact with company and post comments. The website creates a platform where the customers can freely interact with the management hence facilitating feedback. The feedback is fundamental in alleviating the management as well the branding of Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-cola website greets the users with animation sounds and sounds of a glass filled by soda and ice. The web page has four main links and two of them deal with coca-cola marketing campaigns. The website creates a platform where people get relevant information and “taste” the goodness of Coca-cola (Hoffman & Bateson, 2006). Coca-cola has embraced the WebPages to promote key marketing concepts and more especially the marketing concept. The website highlights the demographic data gathering that is crucial in marketing. It involves gathering data in order to ascertain which consumer groups use their products. The consumer groups are subdivided based on age, country of residence, sex, interests, ethnicity among others (Senker, & Foy, 2012). The demographics help the company to take appropriate marketing and supply strategies hence making the entire work a success. In the website, there are email-based newsletters where the clients sign up to get the newsletters. In the process of signing up, the customer must enter the essentials; sex, location, interests among others. The data is essential when making decisions concerning marketing. For instance, if the high percentage of Coca-cola users is young, the company will tend to formulate advertisements that serve that particular purpose. Moreover, the information will help the company to update the websites with relevant information that is interesting to the consumers (Hays, 2004). Coca-cola has embraced websites as centre of facilitating customer relationship management (CRM).According to Kotler and Armstrong (p.16), CRM refers to the process of building and maintaining worth and profitable relationships through delivering superior customer values, as well as satisfaction. In other words, coca-cola company uses the idea of CRM in building and maintains long-lasting relationships. The long-lasting relations emanates from good customer relationship as well as satisfaction the clients gets from the quality products. The websites facilitate creation of customer base hence making the entire business profitable. The websites are clear and precise in such a way that there are telephone numbers where the customers can call and make queries or even ask relevant questions that affect them. These steps ensure creation of long-lasting relationships for the good of the company (Hays, 2004).Moreover, the coca-cola website has the frequent asked questions (FAQ) sections whereby the customers can access the questions that the company asks concerning the customer services. Creating these platforms facilitates in creation of long-lasting relationships hence maximizing the profits for the company. Coca-cola uses the website in managing the demand. Demand management involves the steps taken by the organization to lower or raise the demand of its products (Senker,& Foy,2012).For Coca-cola, it involves creating more demand for the product. The company has customized the website to ensure that many customers can access it at personalized level. The process allows Coca-Cola to market the products to various groups hence increasing the demand by the target markets. Moreover, Coca-Cola Company has embraced product positioning. It refers to the way consumer place a particular product in relation to other competing products. Coca-Cola has worked hard enough to facilitate effective product positioning. The websites have played a crucial role in making it a reality. Today, Coca-cola is the best brand in the market, and it has experienced the monopoly for quite long time. Consequently, many consumers prefer using Coca-Cola rather than other products in the market (Senker, & Foy, 2012). The internet has been instrumental in the process of collecting data. Coca-cola gets most of the information through the internet hence making correct and appropriate market campaigns and as well as consumer information. It uses the internet expansively to plan the marketing strategies through using information received from the web-based surveys. The hits on particular products help the company to make informed decisions on that particular product. For instance, it is possible to know how many users have visited the Coca-Cola website hence facilitating effective decision-making (Senker & Foy, 2012). Coca-cola has embraced the societal marketing concept whereby it considers the impact of its activities to the environment. As a beverage company, it uses lots of water, and it has to come up with methods and strategies that will facilitate the sustainability. Therefore, the company has ensured that it has planted million of trees hence facilitating generating of more water. Through the process, it has gained popularity and certification as one of the best companies. The reputation makes it possible for the company to increase the sale. Research indicates that customers will buy that product that adheres to sustainability principles (Hays, 2004). Mac Donald restaurants and marketing concepts Mac Donald restaurants are among the best restaurants in the world, and they have exploited effective marketing concepts to facilitate profitability that ultimately leads to success of the company. The company has exploited various concepts that have resulted to the current successful predicament. First, the company creates considerable emphasis on the products. The products from the company exhibit high quality, and that is why the clients prefer the restaurants. The market establishes what the customers require and in turn; they prepare such products with high quality and precision (Macdonald, Cummins & Macintyre, 2007). The quality and precision prompt the customers to continue buying from the restaurant hence creating a good rapport and customer satisfaction. Because of changing market needs, the company has introduced new products hence phasing out the old ones. The steps facilitate the growth of the company since it is meeting the market needs. Relevant research on the market ensures that the products have standard quality hence fetching more market for the product. The products highly depend on location. For instance, in India, most of the products have vegetable content since most of the consumers in India are vegetarians. The product concept has facilitated expansive growth of the restaurants since they focus on providing quality products (Macdonald, Cummins & Macintyre, 2007). Many customers all over the world prefer the restaurants since they customize the products according to the society. Moreover, an affordability product has been one of the considerations of the restaurants. In as much as they have quality, the company ensures that they are affordable. Moreover, the company exploits marketing concepts. In all the ends of the world, the restaurants produce products needed by the customers. For instance, in the United States, they will produce products that form part of the menu in the country. In Arabic countries, they produce products that meet the menu of the area. Therefore, the company thinks globally but acts locally (Latto& College, 1998). Mac Donald has adopted Selling concept through promotions and advertisements. The company has embraced advertisement in all forms such as radio, TV, Cinema, online Posters among others. The advertisement reaches more people hence creating awareness that the company exists. Other promotions strategies include sales, displays, merchandising among others that create awareness. The effective way in marketing is developing campaigns that will use several methods in an attempt to produce effective results. For instance, the TV advertisement creates awareness of food items and press advertisement creating more details. It supports the in store-promotions hence getting people to try the products and promotional devices that will encourage further purchases (Latto& College, 1998). The Mac Donald normally focuses on what children since they have learnt that children love fast foods, and they occasionally prompt their parents to buy. McDonald’s being amongst the leading fast-food shops in the world has extensively used the social marketing concept in terms of producing healthy food and being environmental oriented. The restaurant business is using to 80% of the available, and it is later lost due to inefficient cooking storage and holding. However, the Mc Donald has created eco-friendly steps through recycling and packaging its products. In the same breath, the company has modified the 155 trucks engines to run on biofuel made from the recycled vegetables from the 900 restaurants. The initiative will save at least 1650 tons of carbon per annum. Moreover, the management does not only consider satisfying hunger, they consider the quality of food offered to the clients (Latto& College,1998).The Mc Donald restaurants have faced criticism in the past due to excessive use junk food that leads to obesity and heart attacks. Following the criticism, they have adopted new strategy of using cholesterol free fats hence reducing such critical occurrences. The steps have facilitated increase in the number of customers who visit the restaurants hence increasing the profits. Marketing concepts are paramount for survival of companies and corporations in the world business. Marketing is the backbone of every business and, therefore, effective marketing facilitates increased sales that translate to profitability. Coca-Cola, IKEA and MC Donald have understood the significant hence applying appropriately. The success behind these companies has a close affiliation to marketing concepts. Production, concept, product concept, selling concept, marketing concept and social marketing concept are among the key marketing concepts that have facilitated growth in the companies. Some concepts are common to all the companies while others only appear selectively. Among the common concepts, include social marketing concept. This concept touches the society and the sustainability of the product. The concept has a close relationship to success of many companies and, therefore, terming it as one of the strongest marketing concepts. References Blythe, J. (2006). Marketing. London: SAGE Publications. Blythe, J. (2009). Key concepts in marketing. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE. Dahlvig, A. (2012). The IKEA edge: Building global growth and social good at the world's most iconic home store. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hays, C. (2004). The real thing: Truth and power at the Coca-Cola Company. New York: Random House. Hoffman, K., & Bateson, J. (2006). Services marketing: Concepts, strategies & cases (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson /South-Western. Latto, D., & College, D. (1998). An inquiry into the effectiviness of the internal marketing campaign of Mc Donald's restaurants in Ireland. Dublin: University College Dublin, Graduate School of Business. M, C., & Stockholm, S. (2009). IKEA at Liljevalchs konsthall, 13 June-30 August. Stockholm: Liljevalchs konsthall. Macdonald, L., Cummins, S., & Macintyre, S. (2007). Neighborhood fast food environment and area deprivation—substitution or concentration ? Appetite, 49(1), 251-254. Macdonald, L., Cummins, S., & Macintyre, S. (2007). Neighborhood fast food environment and area deprivation—substitution or concentration?. Appetite,49(1), 251-254. Senker, C., & Foy, D. (2012). Coca Cola: The story behind the iconic business. London: Wayland. Read More