Core Concepts of Marketing

MARKETING:DEFINITIONANDJUSTIFICATION 17

net.TheInternethasallbuteliminatedtheurgencyofsatisfyingtheneedwhentheoppor-

tunityis presented. Internetmarketingwillbediscussedindetailina laterchapter.

Local,Regional,National,International,and

GlobalMarketers
Asonewouldexpect,thesizeandlocationofa company'smarketvariesgreatly.Local
marketersareconcernedwithcustomersthattendtobeclusteredtightlyaroundthemar-
keter.Themarketerisabletolearna greatdealaboutthecustomerandmakenecessary
changesquickly. Naturally,thetotalpotentialmarketis limited.Thereis alsothepossibil-
itythata newcompetitororenvironmentalfactorwillputa localmarketeroutofbusiness.
Regionalmarketerscovera largergeographicareathatmaynecessitatemultiplepro-
ductionplantsanda morecomplexdistributionnetwork.Whileregionalmarketerstendto
serveadjoiningcities,partsofstates,orentirestates,dramaticdifferencesindemandmay
stillexist, requiringextensiveadjustmentsinmarketingstrategy.
Nationalmarketersdistributetheirproductthroughouta country.Thismayinvolve
multiplemanufacturingplants,a distributionsystemincludingwarehousesandprivately
owneddeliveryvehicles,anddifferentversionsofthemarketing"mix"oroverallstrategy.
Thistypeofmarketingofferstremendousprofitpotential,butalsoexposesthemarketerto
new,aggressivecompetitors.
Internationalmarketersoperateinmorethanonecountry.Aswillbecomeclearlater
inthisbook,massiveadjustments arenormallymadeinthemarketingmixinvariouscoun-
tries.Legalandculturaldifferencesalonecangreatlyaffecta strategy'soutcome.Asthe
U.S.marketbecomesmoreandmoresaturatedwithU.S.-madeproducts,thecontinuedexpan-
sionintoforeignmarketsappearsinevitable.
Globalmarketingdiffersfrominternational marketinginsomeverydefiniteways.
Whereasinternationalmarketingmeansa companysellsitsgoodsorservicesinanother
country,it doesnotnecessarilymeanthatthecompanyhasmadeanyfurthercommitments.
Usuallytheproductis stillmanufacturedinthehomecountry,soldbytheirpeople,andthe
profitsaretakenbacktothatcountry.InthecaseofHondaMotors,forexample,it means
buildingmanufacturingplantsintheU.S.,hiringlocalemployees,usinglocaldistribution
systemsandadvertisingagencies,andreinvestinga largepercentageoftheprofitsbackinto'
theU.S.

ConsumerGoodsMarketingandBusiness-to-Business

(Industrial)Marketing

Consumergoodsmarketersselltoindividualswhoconsumethefinishedproduct.Business-

to-businessmarketersselltootherbusinessesorinstitutionsthatconsumetheproductin

tumaspartofoperatingthebusiness,orusetheproductintheassemblyofthefinalprod-

ucttheyselltoconsumers.Business-to-businessmarketersengageinmorepersonalsell-

ingratherthanmassadvertisingandarewillingtomakeextensiveadjustmentsinfactors

suchasthesellingprice,productfeatures,termsofdelivery,andsoforth.

Fortheconsumergoods marketer,thevariousmarketingcomponentsarerelatively

fixed.Inaddition,consumergoodsmarketersmightemployemotionalappealsandarefaced

withtheconstantbattleofgettingtheirproductintoretailoutlets.

StrategicComponentsofMarketing

A necessaryandusefulstartingpointforthestudyofmarketingis considerationoftheman-
agementprocess.Themanagementofmarketingservesastheframeworkfortheprocess
ofmarketing.Marketingmanagementalsoservesasa centrallinkbetweenmarketingand