MARKETING CONCEPTS
Abstract
Marketing concepts are anchored on the philosophy that business institutions should focus on analyzing the needs of their customers and endeavor to making decisions that satisfy these needs (The Marketing Concept, 2007). This implies that before firms develop products, they should focus on customer needs, concentrate company functions to meeting them and generate profit by satisfying these needs successfully. Through research, the customer’s needs are identified and fed into the organization.
Classic Airlines is the world’s fifth largest airline. Since inception, the company has grown to a profitable airline but with recent increased uncertainty about flying, the company has suffered a decrease in share prices over the previous year. Through the company’s loyalty program, Classic Rewards, customers’ confidence in the airline is also on a downward trend. Increase in the costs of labor and fuel has made it difficult for the airline to win customer loyalty buy cutting prices. As a result of the foregoing the company’s board of directors mandated a fifteen percent cost reduction across the board over the succeeding eighteen months.
Marketing concepts hold that a firm’s functions should be geared towards identifying and analyzing a firm’s target market. A basic concept of marketing therefore is being able to identify the target market and its needs. As Classic Airlines aims at cost reduction, beefing up its frequent fliers program is also a high priority.
To achieve these, the company has to identify its target market and its needs. Classic Airlines has a Customer Relationship Management program which would enable the company to get the needs of the frequent fliers who are their target market. In carrying out a research on these customers’ needs, the Chief Marketing Officer also gets in touch with frequent fliers of the airline in order to identify their needs. As a result the company is able to get the “picture of the customer”.
To be able to identify the needs of customers effectively, market segmentation is another marketing concept that plays a starring role. This involves sub-dividing the market on various criterions to be able to point out the specific needs of the different categories of customers. Classic Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Customer Service comes up with the Classic Airlines Segmentation Strategy to be able to identify the needs of the customers depending on the criterions of primary benefit, demographics, behavior, personality and lifestyle.
this article is written by professor James a writer at essayswritinghub
