What Is a Marketing Philosophy?
A marketing philosophy is a foundational idea that becomes a part of all of the work that a marketing department accomplishes for a company or organization. In general terms, most marketing philosophies center around finding new customers to view their products and services, so a marketing department or firm aims toward that end.
A marketing philosophy defines the mission of a company using the satisfaction and benefits that using that company offers; it focuses on a two-way system of communication with the customer, so that the marketing department understands the customer needs more clearly. Even though short-term sales increases are helpful, a marketing philosophy looks both at changes for today as well as changes down the road. Five elements are crucial to every successful marketing philosophy: the product concept, production concept, marketing concept, selling concept and societal marketing concept. The product concept asserts that clients prefer a particular service or product when it is clearly superior to the competition. Production concept claims that sales increase when distribution and production capacity increases. The selling concept centers on the fact that no one is going to buy a product from a company that lacks the commitment to market it. The marketing concept includes the idea that organizational goals have to center around the needs and wants of the target niche. The selling concept starts with production and ends with profit. In total, a solid marketing philosophy starts with a clearly defined market for a product and ends when a long-term connection exists between the company and the customers.
